Lessons in Life
by Arden Tenjou
Summary: AU. Zoro is a high school student struggling with the recent death of his father. Sanji is his uncle and also a teacher at his school, and seems to want to help, though he only ends up bullying him. Yet Sanji always gets him out of trouble. Will Zoro ever realize Sanji's true feelings? SanZo, ZoSan, Kidd/Zoro, Kidd/Law.
1. Chapter 1

(Warning: this first chapter contains a fairly strong non-con scene. The following chapters will NOT be in this vein, and will be more (I hope) in the anxty/vanilla area. In other words, please skip the smut this time if that offends you, and know that any smut which follows will be much less potent. FYI: the smut this time is marked by: xXx.)

Lessons in Life

Chapter 1

Robin had just finished setting down cereal, grapefruits, coffee and juice on the table when her step-son brushed past her on his way to the door.

She blinked as he passed. "Aren't you hungry, Zoro?"

Zoro flinched, caught. He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "No. I have to go early to review for a test today."

Robin briefly wore an unreadable expression. Then she smiled softly. "All right. Have a good day."

Without a word, Zoro turned and left, buttoning his gakuran as he went. Things had been awkward since his dad had died. Robin was his father's second wife, and they'd only been married for two years when he died. To start with, Zoro had never trusted her. Now she was his only family. Well, there was one more, but he didn't like to think about that.

Zoro was well aware of the fact that, despite taking the same route every day, he would get lost and even if he left early, would arrive at the school at about the same time as everyone else. So he strolled at an easy pace, got lost, ran around a bit, and accidentally found the school by smelling the cafeteria food.

He arrived at his classroom and greeted his friends, Usopp, Nami and Luffy. "Hey," he said, hanging his bag on the side of his desk and sitting down behind Nami, on Luffy's right.

Usopp and Luffy were fairly involved with a DS game, but Nami smiled back at him, half turning in her chair. "Morning, Zoro. You're early today."

"…the bell's about to ring."

"It hasn't rung yet, and that's an improvement."

Zoro rolled his eyes and grumbled. Zoro was actually older than the other three. He had been held back his first year after getting suspended for fighting on school grounds. He'd only barely escaped expulsion because of the intervention of the aforementioned second family member. Speaking of which…

Their homeroom teacher slammed the door open and closed with his foot, as usual, and took a look around. He spotted Zoro and grinned. Zoro sunk deeper into his chair, trying to avoid his gaze.

The blond, half-French teacher ambled over and leaned on Zoro's desk. "Early today, aren't we, Zoro? Did my lovely sister drop you off?"

Zoro snarled. "I've told you before not to use my given name at school, goddamn it. Just because my dad married your sister doesn't make us friends."

The teacher briefly removed a cigarette from his mouth to blow smoke in Zoro's face.

"And you can't smoke in a school!" Zoro continued, slamming his hands on his desk as he stood up to face him.

But Sanji-sensei was already distracted. "And you got to school okay, Nami-chan? I hope my miserable nephew wasn't being mean to you again."

"And stop telling everyone we're related!" Zoro roared.

Nami smiled serenely. "He wasn't. Neither was he sexually harassing me, as certain teachers have actually been warned about before."

Sanji's smile got a big crack in it. He laughed awkwardly and then regained his composure. "Ahh, I'd like you to see France, Nami-chan. It's so beautiful, a land where-"

"-perverts roam free, I suspect," Nami interjected.

Sanji again looked almost pained, and he meekly returned to the front of the classroom, muttering about the Louvre and Notre Dame. Nami chuckled a bit and turned to Zoro. "You're so lucky your uncle is so cool and funny. Mine is just a boring security guard. With a mustache. Ugh."

"What's cool about him?" Zoro growled, as Sanji-sensei started the class. "He's a philanderer, a bully, and he has no morals."

"A bully?"

"Well, obviously."

Nami chuckled. "You mean you, Zoro? I think you're confused." He glanced at her as they sat back down after their bow. "He's the type who only bullies people he likes. I'm sure of it."

At the time, Zoro grunted noncommittally and turned his attention to his studies. Later, he would remark that that was when he began to think of his uncle a little differently.

Zoro was actually a good student, diligent if not necessarily brilliant, and only became distracted by major life issues. His dad's death, for example. That was when he had nearly killed another student who tried to start a fight with him, for no good reason, and would have been expelled if not for Sanji. His uncle spoke on his behalf to the board, and managed to smooth the issue over with a mere suspension.

Guys he didn't know starting fights with him was commonplace. Zoro had been born with a scary face, and also happened to be passionate about kendo and karate. He had no interest in petty fighting, only in becoming the best one could be. Kendo was how he became close with Luffy and Usopp. Nami was their team manager. And Sanji, the idiot, was their adviser.

The school day ended without any major distractions, and they headed to club practice. However, Zoro did get an English test back that was horrible. It wasn't his strong suit. Especially since the only person he could ask for help with foreign languages was his idiot uncle. Although the main subject he taught was Japanese literature, Sanji spoke English conversationally and French fluently. Not that Zoro cared.

Sanji had been strangely present in Zoro's life since his father's death. Of course, he had always been around; he had a quite incurable sister complex and would never accept any man as being good enough. Even so, he seemed to warm up to Zoro's father with time, though he would never admit that anyone would be a better husband for Robin than himself. He hardly seemed to notice 15-year-old Zoro when they met.

But after he died, Sanji had several times gotten Zoro out of major trouble. Once, when Zoro was drunk in public (despite being only 17), and another time when he got in a big mess with one of the gangs from a rival school. Zoro was obviously not in a gang. He had been completely alone at the time, and could possibly have died.

But as soon as Sanji worked out where he was, he had forgotten his role as a teacher and kicked the collective asses of a bunch of high school kids. Then he made sure Zoro got to the hospital. They had a conversation in the ambulance that Zoro could never remember, due to a rather nasty blow to the head. But since then, Sanji had become even more annoying, always asking Zoro where he was going after school, texting him randomly, and coming over to visit and bring food. His concern could not be any less welcome.

To Zoro, Sanji was everything that was wrong with adults today. He was actually similar to Zoro's father, except that his vice was not liquor, but women. Sanji would make a pass at anything with a skirt, no matter how much he was disliked for it or asked to stop. He also smoked, swore, and occasionally bestowed physical harm on his pupils (male ones only, obviously). Zoro could not have thought less of him if he were a male porn star.

But that little thing that Nami said started him thinking. One of the reasons Zoro found Sanji so irksome was how Sanji seemed to take delight in ruining his day, and in general seemed to dislike and bully him. Yet he was always around. Without realizing it, Zoro had always assumed that Sanji pitied him for the loss of his father, and looked down on him for his acting out afterward. He told himself he didn't care at the time. In reality, he had been looking for a male figure to look up to and turn to when he was in trouble.

It was then that Zoro started to wonder, and try to remember, what they had talked about on the ambulance ride. He felt somehow that it was very important.

The kendo team approached its first competition of the year. For Zoro, Luffy and Usopp, it was also their last year of competitions. Zoro was, as usual, the only one who could spar with Luffy. Apart from being insanely strong, Luffy also had no control dial, and was very bad at slowing or lightening his own attacks against weaker opponents. Even Zoro took a nasty hit every once in a while, but did so without complaint. He had to spar with Luffy as much as possible to increase his own strength.

Predictably, when he had heard Zoro (and Nami) were on the team, Sanji had taken over as advisor. It was a nothing position, and actually made him subordinate to the coach, but it meant he could come and pester them whenever he felt like it.

That afternoon, as Nami was preparing some cold drinks for everyone, he popped his head in the dojo and immediately offered to help. She smiled and allowed him to do most of the work. Zoro watched this, scowling, from the corner of his eye. Nami was a friend, and Sanji was a perverted old man and already too conscious of her; Zoro didn't like that one bit.

As a result, unfortunately, he did not have all his attention on Luffy's shinai at the crucial moment. The next second, it sent him hurtling to the ground. He landed hard and got the wind knocked out of him, though his protective gear had shielded him from most of the shinai's strike. He sat there gasping for a moment, looking up at the ceiling from behind the mesh of his visor, while some underclassmen looked on with concern. Also, Nami and Sanji.

Luffy took off his helmet and leaned down to stare at Zoro curiously. "Zoro? Your brain went away just now, you know."

Zoro growled, still struggling to restore his breath. "It did not, moron." He knocked him lightly on the head before getting up and finishing regaining his breath. "Come again."

He didn't notice the light release of tension from Sanji's shoulders when Zoro got back up. But Nami did. She folded her arms, considering Sanji's attitude. However, the rest of the practice continued without a hitch, and the coach let everybody go.

Zoro, Luffy and Usopp ambled into the locker room, Luffy already complaining about being hungry (it never took more than two or three minutes after practice). Zoro set down his helmet on the bench and opened his locker.

Usopp said, already wearing nothing but a towel, "You guys showering first or going straight home?"

Luffy sighed heavily. "Shower, I guess."

Zoro was going to shake his head, since he was tired and didn't like public showers to begin with, but then he reconsidered. Leaving early would just mean going back home sooner. Back to a cold house where he didn't feel wanted. He sighed too. "Yeah," he eventually muttered.

"Well hurry up! I want to eat ramen tonight!" Usopp said, gleefully.

"Yay! Ramen!" Luffy chimed in, jumping up and down even though Usopp urged him to stop, due to his bare feet on the slippery floor.

Zoro paused, looking down at his gloves as he took them off. "You guys go ahead," he said. "I have some errands today. I'll see you tomorrow."

Luffy deflated. "You always say that. Come play with us sometimes!"

"I will. I promise."

Luffy frowned in a pout and he and Usopp headed to the showers. Zoro delayed getting changed, unconsciously thinking it would mean spending less time at home. As a result, he only got ready to shower after most of the guys had already left. That was just as well, since he wasn't shy but certainly wasn't interested in showing off his body to a bunch of guys.

He was just heading to the showers, when an annoying voice rang out, "Man, you do take a while."

Zoro whirled, almost dropping the towel around his waist. Sanji leaned against the door of the locker room, grinning like a Cheshire cat. Zoro gritted his teeth.

"What the hell are you doing here, perv?"

Sanji blew out smoke. "Please, my perversion is limited to nubile young ladies. I have no interest in sweaty children."

"Get the hell out then."

A chuckle. "You really are as stiff as a statue, aren't you?" he took a drag, then smiled. "I'm just here to play with you. What's wrong with that?"

"Many things."

Sanji snorted with laughter, barely avoiding choking on smoke. "Ahh, you are a tough one. But I'll wear you down eventually. Someday you'll be saying, 'Play with me, Sanji-niichan!'"

Zoro scoffed. "What part of you is anybody's 'nii-chan'? Even if I liked you enough to say that, you're old enough to be my father, ossan."

Sanji looked as if he had a stroke while he recovered from being called "ossan". "I…am…twenty-five, goddamn it! And single! I'll die before you call me Oji-san, or any permutation thereupon!"

Zoro sighed, walking toward the showers. "Too bad. As you are so fond of pointing out, we are related. And since I'm your nephew, that makes you-"

"Aaagh, enough!" Sanji cried, waving the air in front of him as if to rid himself of the imaginary "OSSAN" logo that had appeared in front of him. He regained his breath, hand on his chest as if to save himself any further pain. As Zoro was leaving, he barked, "I just came to say I'm making dinner tonight! So don't slack off with your pudding-headed friends, or make Nee-chan wait!"

Zoro merely sighed, leaving his sight.

xXx

Zoro hung his towel outside and showered in silence, since the others had all gone home. Or so he thought. Normally Zoro had almost superhuman perception, especially of threats, but today his head was full of Nami's comment about his uncle. When he thought about it, Sanji never went out of his way to trouble Zoro. Quite the opposite. And yet he seemed outwardly to dislike him…which were his real feelings?

As he was thinking this, and as the sounds of the water masked the softer ones of bare feet padding toward him, he started to rinse the soap from his body.

Suddenly, a hand with a cloth over it clamped over his nose and mouth. "Nnn!" he cried. At first he was thinking this to be Sanji playing some kind of prank. But unfortunately, by the time he realized he was wrong, it was already too late to fight back.

Zoro's head started to spin. He had instinctively grabbed hold of the arms that held him, but he felt his grip weakening. And all of a sudden, something was really not right with his body. He panted hard against the cloth, trying to retain his senses.

"That's right. Settle down," said an dark, smirking voice, much though he was still having to wrestle Zoro into stillness.

Zoro's heart thundered in his ears, his gut screaming at him that he was in serious trouble. He felt drunk, and high, and struggled to stay upright. What was happening?

"Roronoa Zoro, right? Well, I don't really need to ask. You don't exactly get lost in a crowd, do you?"

"Nnf!" Zoro cried, trying in vain to remove the hand over his face. He had realized there was some drug soaked in the cloth. He had to get away.

"My name's Kidd. You probably don't remember me, but a few months back you broke three of my ribs. Beat me pretty good. Along with ten other lead guys in our gang, and that was before your bodyguard got there."

Zoro's eyes widened. This guy was from Higashi High. The gang Zoro had picked a fight with, and nearly won if not for their sheer numbers. Apparently they were still upset about it. Also…yes, he did remember him. This guy, Eustass Kidd, was a ruthless fighter, famous for miles around for not caring if he got bystanders involved in his fights. He had stood up the longest to Zoro's attacks, and was the one who dealt him the head injury. He was a sick fuck. Zoro mustered all of his strength to try to break free, but Kidd merely slammed him against the cold, tile wall. His head swam.

"Shhh, easy now," he said, pressing his body against Zoro's back. "I'm not really going to hurt you. I'm just here to teach you a lesson. That you don't fuck with Higashi and get away with it."

Zoro was getting a very bad feeling. It was then that he felt something hard pressing against his hip. He froze. It couldn't be. This guy couldn't…

Kidd chuckled. "You know why they sent me? Well, I'm strong and I did want to kick your head in to be honest with you…but mostly…" At that moment, he licked a long trail up Zoro's ear. "I'm the only one who likes to stick it in a man's ass."

Zoro felt a cold chill run down his spine. He had to get out of here. But it was then that Kidd's free hand started to slide down Zoro's chest. He shuddered, his body feeling uncomfortably hot, and not just because of the steam. His skin felt super-sensitive. Then, Kidd flicked his nipple.

Zoro's whole body twitched as his back arched, uttering a muffled moan. It was like an electric shock. Trembling, he slid a few inches down the wall. Much though he didn't want anything to do with the other man, he had to inch his hips backward because…his hardening cock was brushing against the tile.

"Ohh," said Kidd. "That's a surprise. Not that it matters much to me." He roughly thwacked Zoro's cock with his middle finger. Zoro cried out and twitched violently. It hurt so bad, but he almost came. What was wrong with him? "As long as your hole's nice and slick, I don't give a damn about the front. What have we got here I wonder…"

As Zoro panted and tried desperately to regain his senses, Kidd was looking through left-behind shampoo and soap bottles on the shelf under the shower heads.

"Oh! Lucky for us, someone needs Vaseline for something. Well, there's no need to judge. Now, you're probably pretty loose already from the drug, but don't fucking tighten up until I'm inside you. Got that?" he growled against Zoro's ear.

Zoro shivered. Even the breath against his ear was now causing him pleasure. He was starting to forget why he was here, his whole mind on the weird, hazy pleasure coursing through his body. He moaned softly against the hand on his mouth, weakly pushing against the wall as if it might get him some control back.

And then he felt moist fingers in a place where he had never been touched before. His eyes flew open. He tried to shake his head. No, this was not right. He wanted to cum, but…no, not like this.

However it was not really his decision anymore. One finger slid inside him.

"Mmf!" Zoro grunted, feeling like it should have hurt more than it did. He panted, trying to ignore the burning need in his gut. That finger was now creating a need where there had not been one before. It flexed and stretched inside him. His hole was already weak from the drug, and he was definitely more sensitive than usual, but he had never felt something like this. No pleasure that he had ever felt so deeply.

Kidd's finger slowly fucked him for a time, reducing him to a puddle of desire, barely able to stand. Then he added a second. Zoro moaned again; he could feel his cock twitching. The cloth over his mouth was now wet with his own drool. Both fingers thrust hard inside him. He trembled, vaguely thrusting his hips, his inexperienced body not knowing how to deal with the overwhelming sensations.

He twitched and suddenly gasped out a cry, splattering the bathroom wall liberally with semen. Kidd looked on in amazement for a moment. Then he swallowed. "You bitch," he muttered. "I didn't say you could cum. Get on your knees!"

Zoro gasped as the fingers were removed from his hole. Feeling his strength drained out of him, he slid to the floor. He almost lay down altogether, but Kidd grabbed him by the arms and set him on his knees in front of him.

"I can't wait, damn it. Open your mouth."

Zoro numbly protested, but Kidd opened his mouth for him, and promptly shoved his cock inside. "Gmnfhn!" Zoro grunted, eyes wide. He was choking. His mouth was so full. He felt the strange object slamming against the back of his throat and thought he might throw up. And despite this, he was hard again.

Zoro gurgled, nearly losing consciousness, both from lack of oxygen and from mind-altering pleasure. It was so intense, and so much of the feeling was unpleasant, but having a cock slammed into his throat was making him so hot he could barely hold on. Stomach acid gurgled up a few times, and Kidd briefly allowed Zoro to cough it up each time, then resumed slamming into his mouth.

Kidd was starting to grunt, gripping Zoro's head and shoving it harder and deeper inside him. Then, Kidd suddenly slid out a few inches and blocked one of Zoro's nostrils. Zoro panicked and gasped in through the other, but at that moment, Kidd placed the cloth in front of it. Zoro inadvertently inhaled a large amount of the drug at once. Zoro's body went almost slack. He numbly tried to swallow the precum dripping down his throat, eyes fluttering.

"Mm," Kidd grunted, who seemed to be losing control from watching Zoro. He pounded Zoro mercilessly, even altering the angle of Zoro's jaw so he could shove it deeper. Zoro was choking and gurgling, but his eyes were lidded and hazy, and far from protesting. His hands even lightly held onto Kidd's thighs to steady himself. "One more," Kid muttered, pulling back and forcing Zoro to inhale the drug again.

This time, Zoro's eyes rolled back, and his body went slack. Kidd caught his head before he passed out, and continued slamming his cock back inside his throat. "Ah, fuck!" Kidd cried. "You're good! Stay with me, I want you to choke on my cum!"

Zoro was barely conscious, but he gurgled and twitched violently when Kidd's foot lightly stepped on his dick. Zoro had originally been on his knees but had slid down so that his ass was on the ground, knees on either side of him. Kidd's foot put just enough pressure between Zoro's cock and the floor that it almost hurt. Zoro's cries were muffled by the rhythmic pounding of Kidd's cock, but his hips had involuntarily started to thrust.

Though almost there himself, Kidd lightly laughed at Zoro. "You sick loser. You think my foot is a pussy?"

He squeezed Zoro's cock harder. Zoro gurgled, coughing, barely allowed to breathe. He didn't even seem able to react to the pain, and continued weakly thrusting his hips.

"Ha!" Kidd crowed, his face tense with trying not to cum. "Fine, you can fuck my foot while you're choking on my cum. Ahh…ah…fuck, I'm cumming! Take it all!"

Kidd's hips rammed at incredible speed against Zoro's throat, until finally he shoved it deeply down, holding Zoro's head tight against his crotch, and filled Zoro's esophagus with cum. Zoro's eyes were wide as he stared up at Kidd in disbelief. There was so much cum. He couldn't breathe. He was going to throw up.

Then, Zoro's whole body twitched again, and under Kidd's foot he sprayed more cum on the shower room floor. He lay there twitching for a long time, his consciousness gradually slipping away, as Kidd slowly removed his cock. Zoro's head flopped down against his chest, but then Kidd smacked him hard with the back of his hand.

Zoro vaguely tried to sit up again, cum dripping from the side of his mouth, and Kidd grabbed his head to talk to him closely. "You're not done yet, goddamn it. I still need to fuck you. Get up."

After cumming twice, Zoro had some sanity back, although he was extremely tired. He tried his best and managed to shake his head. Kidd glared down at him with fury.

"I said get up."

Kidd raised his fist, but at that moment, a flash of black hit the side of his head and he was knocked to the ground. Where he stayed, since he also hit his head on the tile floor. He wasn't bleeding, but he wasn't getting up for a while. Zoro's eyes were starting to close. He didn't care about anything right then, as long as he wasn't going to be raped by a man. He didn't even think about what it was that had taken Kidd down.

With only one shoe now, Sanji ran into the shower room and knelt beside Zoro. Zoro hear him mutter something, swearing a lot (a lot), and suddenly Zoro was wrapped in a towel and snatched up in warm arms. That surprised him, because Zoro was not a light kid. Also, if it really was Sanji who had rescued him, since when did he have any upper body strength?

Zoro had only a short time to contemplate these things before sleep took him in earnest. However, once again, strangely, he had a brief conversation with Sanji while his brain was too addled to remember. And once again, it was something he would not have wanted to miss.

xXx

Zoro woke up and almost immediately knew he wasn't home. It was somewhere he knew, but not home. Whose desk was that again? Whose shelves? His head ached. He slowly rose, surveying the space. He realized he was in Sanji's apartment; in his bedroom to be more precise. He thought that was weird at first, but then some memories started coming back to him. He felt a horrible chill. Had that been real?

He very gingerly rose; his body seemed unhurt, but his head was killing. He could hear Sanji's voice on the other side of the bedroom door and followed it. He cracked the door open to see Sanji sitting on his couch looking haggard, and talking on the phone.

"Yes, I think he should stay here tonight...He's sleeping now, but I'll make sure he gets some food in him…Yeah, I will…You too. Bye," he slowly flipped his phone closed, tiredly wiping a hand over his face.

Then Sanji noticed Zoro's presence. "Zoro," he said. Yet somehow his eyes didn't quite seem to meet Zoro's. "How do you feel?"

Zoro blushed almost uncontrollably. How much had Sanji seen? "Just tell me honestly, because it all seems sort of vague to me. Did that guy really…put his…"

Sanji interrupted him. "Stop there, Zoro. I don't know what you think happened, but that guy gave you a hallucinogen. I gather he was saying some illicit things to you, and in that state your brain would have accepted them as fact. Nothing happened except that you passed out on the floor."

Zoro's eyes narrowed. He gathered Sanji was trying to spare his embarrassment or perhaps trauma, but he didn't need to be lied to. His jaw was still aching, and the inside of his mouth tasting mildly bitter and sour. Then Zoro noticed the way Sanji avoided his gaze. His stomach lurched. Sanji had seen after all. And he was disgusted.

"I'm not gay," Zoro found himself growling through gritted teeth.

Sanji was silent for a moment. "I never said you were."

"Enough! If you hate me so much, why do you hang around all the time?! I don't need a father figure so bad that I have to settle for you!"

Zoro watched Sanji's expression change. He immediately regretted saying those things; it was one thing when they were parrying back and forth every day. What he just said was his real feelings, and feelings that would hurt Sanji. He knew that and he'd said it anyway.

Sanji blinked for a moment, glancing down at the floor. "Zoro…I don't hate you."

"Bullshit. Why won't you look me in the eye?!"

Sanji stayed still, gazing at the floor. His jaw muscles clenched. But he did not look up or try to deny it. Zoro suddenly felt cold. He wasn't sure what he had been expecting, but it wasn't that. So it was true? Sanji really did hate him? Zoro didn't know why, but even though he had always considered Sanji an annoyance, for some reason that made him unbearably sad.

Zoro did not notice when one, and then two tears fell down his cheeks. But that caught Sanji's attention and he finally looked up at him with a tortured expression. "Zoro…you're wrong, it's not-…"

Zoro simply turned away and returned to the bedroom. "I'm too tired to go home now, but I'll be out of your hair tomorrow. I'm taking the bed. You can have the sofa."

"Zoro…" he heard Sanji murmur.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The next morning, Zoro was up at five, having all of his clothes since Sanji had somehow managed to fully dress Zoro before taking him home. He had showered the previous night, exhausted but unable to bear the thought of Kidd's hands on him. Unsurprisingly, he didn't meet Sanji on his way to school.

Unlike practically every other day, Sanji didn't speak to Zoro before class. Nor did he tease him during class, or purposefully call on him on subjects he was poor at. In fact, he barely looked at him. Nor did he show up for practice. Being the type of man he was, Zoro utterly denied the yawning ache in his heart, and focused on his studies.

When he was about to go home, skipping a shower after practice this time, he spotted a thin, blond man waiting at the school gate. Sanji finally looked at him briefly, only to turn back to the ground again. He pushed off the wall and matched pace with Zoro as he left the school.

"What do you want?" Zoro demanded as they walked.

"Hmm," Sanji considered, with a complicated expression. "I guess I just felt like seeing Robin-nee. Does it bother you?"

"Obviously."

A forced laugh. "Well that shouldn't surprise me, huh? Sorry."

Zoro glared at him. "If you're sorry then go away."

He saw Sanji tense. "Not today."

Zoro paused. There was a sharpness in Sanji's tone that he had rarely heard before. He decided he'd probably imagined it. "If you're going to my house, then go by yourself. I'm eating out."

Sanji's jaw tightened. "Zoro…please, enough is enough."

Zoro frowned. "What?"

"When are you going to accept my sister? You have no idea how much she's hurt by your behavior."

Zoro's eyes widened in indignation. "What right do you have to tell me that?"

Sanji stopped walking. "Frankly, a lot, but never mind that. I'm not telling you something you don't know. You lost both your parents. I know, that's a pain I can't ever understand. But she lost her husband. She's trying not to lose her son too."

"I am not her son."

"Because you won't be!" Sanji grabbed Zoro's shoulder. "Zoro, it's okay if you hate me. I deserve it. But all she's ever done is try to be close to you. You and me are all she has. Why don't you get that? Do you hate her, is that it?"

Zoro started backing away. This conversation was starting to touch a terribly painful place inside of him and he wanted it to stop. "No…"

"Then why?" Sanji's tone softened.

Zoro gritted his teeth, trying to make sense of what he was feeling. "I don't know…"

Sanji's grip on his shoulder loosened.

Zoro swallowed. His limbs began to tremble. Softly, he continued, "I don't know why I never tried to get to know her. When I think about it, I feel…cold. My mom…I never really knew her. Just a few spotty memories from when I was three. It was just the old man and me for a long time. He'd never brought women home before. I didn't really know…"

Though nothing changed in his tone or expression, tears began to drip down Zoro's cheeks without his knowledge. Sanji watched with an expression like he was the one in pain.

"…didn't know why he needed someone else. No, I don't hate her. I don't think I've ever really looked at her," Zoro finished, a few more tears dripping down in silence.

Sanji bit his lip and looked down for a time. Then all of a sudden, he pulled Zoro into a tight embrace. "Wh-…" Zoro muttered in shock.

"I'm sorry," Sanji murmured. "For a lot of things…I never seem to be there when you need me. I'm always too late or I just make things worse. I know I can't fill in for your dad, but…I had this idea that maybe I could ease your burdens somehow. I'm sorry. I know. I just make it worse."

Zoro stood rigid in utter disbelief, partly just because people didn't hug him very often and he really had no idea what to do. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Nami had been right. Everything that Sanji had done made sense to Zoro now; he didn't hate Zoro, he was just awkward. And Zoro was stunned to hear him say that he was never there for him. Nothing could be further from the truth. Slowly, Zoro's body started to relax.

And as it did, along with the pain and fear of saying aloud something he'd tried to bottle up, was a huge sense of relief. He would never say it, but he'd really needed someone to rely on. And because his stubbornness had prevented him from seeking out either Robin or his friends, he had had no one. For an 18-year-old, there were few worse things than feeling truly alone.

Zoro's shoulders began to shake. More tears fell onto Sanji's jacket. He hardly made any noise, but he finally let himself break down and cry like a child. Sanji never moved or spoke, merely held him till his shaking subsided. When it did, he slowly let Zoro go. Zoro wiped his eyes and nose with his sleeve.

Sanji smiled with gentleness Zoro had never seen before. "You're a mess," he said, tapping Zoro's nose.

Zoro got him back though. He sniffed. "So's your jacket."

Sanji looked down and his face was struck with horror. "This…is Gucci…"

Zoro snorted with laughter.

Sanji's eyes widened. "What's more shocking actually is that you just laughed."

"You're imagining things."

"Stop lying, you did."

"Stop drinking during the day, you'll see things."

"I saw and heard nothing but the truth, which is that you just laughed at me. Which…if it has to ruin a designer suit each time I want to make you laugh…is going to become ruinously expensive."

Then, wonder of wonders, another laugh. And though he hardly did it again afterward, the trip back to Zoro's house was much lighter than either man thought it could be. And when they got home, Robin met them at the genkan looking a bit confused.

Zoro took a deep breath. He looked in his step-mother's eyes and said, "I'm home."

Robin blinked. Then her expression softened to a smile, and he thought he saw her eyes glisten. "Welcome back."

Sanji stayed for dinner, and made them Zoro's much-hated French cuisine. After dinner, Zoro sat on the porch watching the sunset. Sanji came out to some after helping Robin wash up.

"Do you mind?" Sanji asked, holding an unlit cigarette in his lips and a lighter in front of him.

Zoro shook his head.

Sanji lit up, and breathed out a long drag for a moment. "This…is going to sound overbearing and probably patronizing…" he said, eventually. "But I don't want you going home alone for a while," Sanji said. Zoro glanced up at him, but he said nothing, so Sanji continued, hesitantly. "It doesn't have to be me. That Monkey bastard is actually pretty reliable, so if he doesn't mind I'd like him to do that. Of course, if there's somebody else-"

"I'm fine with you," Zoro interjected.

Sanji blinked. He dropped hot ash onto his hand, and turned away, swearing. He stayed silent for a while. "I don't mind…but…"

Zoro felt his chest tighten again, so he sighed loudly. "I never do get you. Father figure one minute, cold and sketchy the next." He glanced up and saw Sanji's look of uncertainty. He realized he would have to be clear and say what was on his mind. He looked at the ground. "It's okay to tell me honestly. What you saw that time…it must have changed how you see me."

Sanji's eyes widened. "What? Zoro, no…"

"Look, don't pretend that it didn't, or that nothing happened. I was high, I wasn't unconscious. And my body remembered. How…much did you see?" Zoro asked softly, with his head lowered.

Sanji turned away and to Zoro's shock, slammed his fist on the porch railing, though he immediately tried to play it off by calmly taking a drag. "If it matters to you, I hardly saw anything because of the steam and distance. It was more what I heard…which wasn't much. None of that matters. Jesus, Zoro, that's not why I've been distant today."

Zoro stared up at him with surprise. It wasn't?

"I…told you already. I'm clearly not the person you should rely on. When I think that…if I'd stayed another few minutes…or come back sooner…" Both Sanji's fists were clenched against the rail. "I don't know how to face Nee-chan and Roger."

Zoro watched him for a time. Then he unconsciously smiled. "Maybe it's just me, but I think you take your job as uncle too seriously." Sanji hung his head with an exasperated sigh. Then Zoro quietly added, "But thank you."

Sanji stared. Zoro thought he saw him blush, but he quickly hid his face while taking a drag.

For the next couple of weeks, Sanji saw Zoro home from school. And though they mostly argued or didn't talk at all, the air was much freer between them. They even occasionally talked about subjects they both liked.

"You used to do Taekwondo?" Zoro asked him in surprise.

Sanji shrugged. "I did lots of different Asian styles of fighting, a few others when I was living in France. In the end none of them let me use my legs freely enough, so now I use a variation of what my father taught me."

"I noticed that," Zoro muttered. "I've only seen you fight once, but you didn't use your hands at all. Was that on purpose?"

"Of course! I can't hold a woman with rough hands!" Zoro rolled his eyes; this was his least favorite subject with Sanji. "That…and I really don't want to damage them." Sanji glanced down at them as he was talking. "It would suck if I couldn't cook anymore."

Zoro examined him with a brief sidelong glance. "Hmph."

"Hey! Why don't we get a nice bottle of wine tonight? Or maybe two…I wonder if Nee-chan will drink even though it's Thursday…" Sanji muttered to himself.

Zoro just yawned. "Whatever."

They settled on two bottles, which turned out to have been a good idea, since both Sanji and Zoro forgot how high Zoro's tolerance was. Robin hadn't, though, and chuckled a lot to herself as the three of them knelt at the low, living room table, chatting. Her brother grew redder and redder, while Zoro remained perfectly composed though he'd already drunk much more.

"You must get that from your father," Robin said, smiling gently.

Zoro stiffened a bit at his father's mention. However, she had stopped referring to him by name when Zoro was around, he wasn't sure when, and for some reason that was less uncomfortable for him.

"Yeah, he was a no-good drunk," Zoro muttered, taking a swig.

Robin shook her head. "He drank too much, but he always kept his composure. That's a rare thing."

Zoro didn't really want to be told how his dad was; what right did she have to tell him what he already knew? It didn't matter than she was right. Weirdly though, she seemed to sense that she had pushed too hard, and slowly got to her feet.

A tipsy Sanji tried to follow her, but was easily pushed back down with a single soft hand on his shoulder. "Nee-chan?"

"I should turn in, I've got an early start tomorrow," she said with a serene smile. "Zoro, sorry to ask, but if it seems like he can't make it home, could you lay him out a futon from the cupboard?"

"Sure," Zoro said. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, you two," Robin said, waving as she retired to the room that used to be his father's. Zoro sighed heavily when she was gone.

"There you go again," Sanji grumbled. He got in Zoro's personal space and narrowed his eyes at him. "Sighing like the end of the world. You know, I-"

At that moment Sanji's hand slipped and he fell between Zoro's legs, accidentally but rather spectacularly head-butting him in the chest.

"Ofhh!" Zoro grunted. Then he growled. "You're not going home tonight."

From where he lay with his face against Zoro's stomach came a muffled voice, "Are you flirting with me?"

Zoro rolled his eyes. Then he rolled his uncle off him, and went to get out the futon. He laid it out, then dragged his uncle on top of it. He covered him with a blanket and stuffed a pillow under his head. Then, for no reason he could think of, he sat back to watch him for a while.

Sanji was already dead asleep, and looking pleased about it too. Zoro was normally too embarrassed to look at people's faces for very long, but he'd always been interested in Sanji's. Even more so since this change in his behavior toward him. He leaned closer for a better look.

The half-Frenchman had very few Japanese features; his eyes were large and blue, his nose tall, and his smile wide and vaguely indecent. But his face and mouth were both on the small side, and somehow his annoying little goatee brought out his more Japanese bone structure. Zoro had no explanation for that curly eyebrow. Also, Zoro couldn't bring himself to ask, but he had always been fascinated by Sanji's one-sided hairstyle. Was he just weird, or was he hiding something?

Swallowing, Zoro slowly approached, and brushed the silky blond locks aside. He frowned. He tilted his head. No, it was true. His eyebrows were not symmetrical. Zoro smiled a bit, thinking Sanji had such a petty complex. He lifted his hand to return the locks, and somehow he paused. Instead, his fingertips brushed Sanji's cheek. Zoro's cheeks felt hot. Touching Sanji felt really good.

Without really meaning to, his hand started caressing Sanji's cheek. He gazed at Sanji's pleasant sleeping face, and started leaning closer. When he thought about it, Sanji really was overly sexy. Not in an obvious way, but somehow the way he moved, the way he held a cigarette between his teeth, the way he sometimes grinned like a little kid, they all stirred Zoro up inside. Which is why he didn't think much about what he did next.

Trembling slightly, Zoro leaned down over Sanji, their faces inches apart. Then, hesitantly, he pressed his lips to Sanji's.

Heat started building in his gut, and his cheeks were on fire. Sanji's lips were so soft. Not that Zoro had anything to compare them to, he'd never been interested in romance. But his body answered for him, taking Sanji's cheek in his hand, and deepening the kiss.

To Zoro's shock, Sanji moaned a bit, and then started to kiss him back. Zoro froze. What was happening? Before he could think, Sanji's arms crept about his waist, and his leg thrust up in between Zoro's. "Mm!" Zoro cried in brief protest. However, he could not help but meet the movements of Sanji's hips. He felt his cock rubbing uncomfortably against his pants. He moaned a bit, shifting as his erection was indirectly stimulated.

Sanji's tongue slipped inside Zoro's lips, provoking another moan. Zoro could barely believe it; even though something so bad had happened to him so recently, he was feeling so good. He could admit it now. He'd always wanted Sanji. Not as a father figure, but as something much more.

"Ahh…" Sanji moaned. "Your lips are so sweet…Keiko."

Zoro twitched. He pushed back above Sanji. His teeth gritted. "Not Keiko."

"I know…" Sanji murmured, blearily. "I was just kidding…Youko."

Zoro deflated, and lifted himself off Sanji. He set his head in his hands. "I'm such a fool."

Sanji's eyes fluttered closed, but he murmured while already falling asleep, "Don't worry, Emiko, I remember you…"

Zoro sighed, and then blushed as he realized what he'd just done. Also, at the state of his pants. Now what?


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Zoro woke Sanji the next morning by stepping flat on his stomach.

"Ughh!" Sanji cried, curling into a ball while holding his stomach. "What the hell?" he rasped. Then he grabbed his head. "Ahh…what was I thinking? Damn school…maybe I should call in sick…"

It was then that Robin entered and promptly removed Sanji's blanket. He shivered and let out a pathetic noise. "If you do, Zoro will tell on you."

Sanji blinked and glanced at him. Zoro met Robin's eyes for a moment. Then he took on a devilish grin. "Maybe. Maybe not. Why don't you try it and see?"

Sanji groaned loudly, briefly burying his head in the pillow. "I just want to crawl in a hole somewhere."

"Good. You'd be of more use there," Zoro grunted, to Sanji's surprise.

"Zoro?" he murmured.

"I'm going on ahead," Zoro said, grabbing his bag and a piece of toast on his way out.

"Hey!" Sanji called after him, but he didn't turn back.

Zoro got to school – eventually – and greeted the others. Luffy was unusually serious when he saw him. He came within inches of him and stared. Zoro recoiled. "What?"

"Zoro," Luffy said, darkly.

"Yeah?" Zoro replied, inching away.

"I have a serious question."

"I believe you."

Zoro waited for a long time, and finally Luffy opened his mouth again. "Is it true you can only eat a certain amount of meat in your life before you run out of room?"

Zoro exhaled a huge breath and turned to glare at Usopp and Nami, both of whom were badly hiding their snickering. "No, it isn't. It is true that you'll get fat and die sooner, though."

"Oh, okay then," Luffy said, looking relieved.

Zoro rolled his eyes and sat down. He started studying his English while he waited. And waited. But no one arrived to start the class. Zoro glanced up, making sure Sanji wasn't there, and looking at his watch. Sanji usually arrived between two and three minutes before class, and any variation in that was extremely rare. But it was already five minutes after the hour. If it was anyone else, Zoro would assume that he was just stuck in traffic. Instead, he had a bad feeling that he couldn't explain.

Also, the fact that no sub was coming in, or an announcement that class was canceled, meant that wherever he was, he wasn't able to call in sick. Though normally too straight-laced to turn his phone on during class, Zoro reached into his bag and flipped it open. There was a voicemail, and it was from Sanji. But somehow, he didn't feel relieved. He discreetly went outside the room to listen to it.

When he did, his worst fears were immediately confirmed.

"Hello there," said a familiar, dark voice. Zoro's stomach twisted and he struggled to continue listening. "Sorry I missed you. I just wanted to let you know that I have your protector lying underneath my boot heel at this very moment, and that if I don't hear from you with the hour, I'm going to rape him, and possibly beat him to death with my nice baseball bat here. So-"

"Zoro!" rasped a different voice. Zoro's blood froze in his veins. It was Sanji. "Don't come! I'll be fine. Just-"

WHACK.

"Whew," continued Kidd's voice. "That was annoying. Maybe I should tape your mouth now. Anyway, Roronoa, I'm at the industrial park. Remember, your deadline is 9 o'clock. Oh, and obviously, if you bring anyone else, or call the cops, I'm going to shove this baseball bat up his ass. Bye now."

Zoro nearly dropped his phone. Instead, he raced inside the classroom to grab his bag, ignoring the stares of his classmates.

"Zoro, what is it?" asked Luffy.

Zoro merely shook his head and ran off. It was a half-hour train ride to the industrial park. It was already ten after eight. He would make it, but only if there were no delays. Fortunately, the only delay was having to wait a few minutes at a level crossing for the train to pass. Then he raced off again, and reached his destination.

People called it the industrial park, but it was really just one large, abandoned factory. It was often used for various darker purposes now, the least of which was hobo housing, the worst of which was yakuza dealings. But Kidd was no yakuza, a fact Zoro was extremely grateful for. He hoped to god that Kidd would be the only one he found here, apart from Sanji.

He slipped inside the broken wood panel covering the door, and started jogging around the building, looking for them. Finally, at the top floor, he found them.

Sanji was lying, bound and very still, on the floor, literally underneath Kidd's boot heel. The gang member took one look at Zoro and grinned widely. "You came after all. Just in time, too, I was getting bored and horny. He's not my type, but when I thought about your face when you saw him broken, I got a bit turned on."

Sanji stirred on the floor. He tried to look up at Zoro, but from the angle of his hair, all Zoro could see was his bruised and bloody mouth. "Zoro…no…"

Kidd promptly kicked him in the ribs. Sanji hardly made a sound but he curled into a ball, gritting his teeth. "Such an annoying guy. I should have taped you up after all."

"Kidd," Zoro interjected.

Kidd glanced up at him, looking a little annoyed.

"If I let you do what you want with me, will you let him go?"

Kidd considered for a moment. Then he started to laugh. Zoro's fists tightened. "So noble. But you know, nobility is one of the things I find most disgusting in a man. Loyalty, I don't mind. But nobility also implies a certain amount of self-sacrifice, in other words, stupidity. That, I find disgusting."

"You're awfully philosophical for a thug," Zoro growled. "What do I have to do for you to let him go?"

Kidd chuckled again. "Let's see…of course, if you'd just let me do you the first time, there would be no need for any of this. But now things are different. Since you avoided your punishment, I'll have to think of something worse. Hmm…by the way, who is this man? Why does he protect you?"

"He's a hired bodyguard so I don't have to deal with morons like you all the time. And frankly, he's been falling down on the job lately. Even if we get out of this, Sanji, you're fired."

Sanji chuckled, gallantly trying to hide the pain in his voice. "Understood, sir."

Kidd narrowed his eyes as he looked between them. "No. I'm not stupid. Hired thugs don't call their employers by their first names." Zoro cursed internally. "He's too old to be a friend. I would say he's your sugar daddy, but it's so obvious you're a virgin, it's sad. So I'm going to say he's family. Am I wrong?"

Zoro and Sanji both lapsed into silence. Kidd grinned.

"Right on the mark, I'd say. So of course, if a family member were to see you undone, especially one who protects you, without being able to do anything about it…I think that would be sufficiently traumatizing to satisfy me."

Zoro started to tremble. He was already terrified of Kidd as it was. If Sanji's life hadn't been in danger he never would have come to face him again. He closed his eyes briefly. Then he opened them and stared at the floor. "And then you'll leave us alone?"

Kidd considered. "Maybe. If I feel like it."

Zoro gritted his teeth. "No. I want your word."

Kidd's glee faded a little bit. "What do you want with that? You don't really think you can trust me, do you?"

"This is the way I do things. Even if it means nothing to you, I want you to say the words. If you break your word, at least you'll know that you lied. That you sold out a part of yourself. If you say the words, I won't fight. I'll do whatever you say. But you must swear that after this, you won't come near us again."

Kidd did not seem to like this at all. "So stupid. Sure, you have my word. If you let me fuck you in front of him," some of Kidd's joy seemed to return. "I won't come near either of you again. Of course, that's also contingent on whether or not you fuck with Higashi again. If you do, I'll be the least of your worries. Got that?"

Zoro nodded.

Kidd smirked and set down his bat against the wall. "I'm going to enjoy this even more this time. I always like to have an audience."

Zoro saw Sanji shaking in the corner of his eye, not knowing that it was from anger. "Damn it…" Sanji barked. "Zoro…just get out of here! I can handle it."

"Fuck you," Zoro replied, hoping his voice wasn't shaking.

"Oh by the way, Mr. Bodyguard," Kidd said, caressing Zoro's chest. "If you look away or try to fight, all his efforts will have been in vain. Of course, that also includes saying unnecessary things."

"Goddamn it…" Sanji grunted, and Zoro could see him discreetly trying to squeeze out of the duct tape around his wrists.

"You sit still, Sanji," Zoro said, softly. "Relax. It's just one time, and then it's done." As he was speaking, Kidd was groping his ass and smelling his hair. "Just…one time…"

Only this time, he wasn't drugged. Without anything to hold it back, his adrenaline was spiking, rushing through his body and triggering a fight or flight response. He couldn't run. No matter what, he could not leave Sanji here. But he couldn't fight, either. His heart was hammering in his ears, the fear growing and growing. His body started to shake.

"Ohh," Kidd murmured, squeezing his ass and thrusting his hips against Zoro's. "We are shaking aren't we? Are you that happy to see my cock again?"

Zoro's fingernails started to dig into his palms. His teeth ground against each other. He closed his eyes and tried to calm his mind and body, most importantly his racing heart. But nothing was working.

Finally, Kidd whirled him around and shoved him against the dirty, brick wall. Zoro gritted his teeth, his shaking increasing. "You really liked my fingers in you last time. You should be happy. This time I brought real lube. You're going to love it."

Kidd started to pull down Zoro's trousers. And then something snapped inside Zoro. He couldn't take it anymore. He let out a roar, and slammed his elbow into Kidd's face. He was thrown backwards to the floor. Kidd cried out, clutching at the blood pouring from his nose.

"Son of a bitch!" he roared, through the blood. "I'll fucking kill you!"

At that moment, a high-heel came flying through the air and struck Kidd's crotch. He gasped and rolled on the floor, his broken nose forgotten.

Zoro whirled around. There stood Luffy, Usopp and Nami, the last of whom was now minus one shoe. She folded her arms and smirked at him. "Took you long enough, Zoro. We figured you'd have this all sorted out by the time we got here. What are you hesitating for, against a weakling like that?"

Usopp grinned. "Nice elbow though." He and Nami both headed over to help Sanji, while Luffy came to Zoro.

Without looking at him, Luffy held up a hand. "Zoro. Change in."

Zoro stared at him. Though he should have felt terrible that he had involved them, the biggest emotion he felt at that time was relief. He slapped Luffy's hand, allowing him to change in. Luffy then approached the wounded Kidd.

He stood over him looking as frightening as Zoro had ever seen him. "Hey. Hedgehog Man," Luffy said, ostensibly referring to Kidd's spikey hairstyle. "You want to bully my friends, you have to answer to me."

Kidd struggled to rise up to his knees and glare hatefully at Luffy. "You sure about that? Making me your enemy means making my whole gang your enemy. How long do you think you can protect him?"

"Oh, that's not quite true," Nami said, rising after Usopp lent Sanji his shoulder and helped him to stand. "For example, where's your gang right now?"

Kidd was noticeably quiet, but for struggling to breathe through the blood.

"Mhm," said Nami. "Do they even know you're here?"

"Probably not, right?" Usopp added, smirking even as he held Sanji up. "In fact, did they even send you on this mission in the first place?"

Sanji struggled to speak, but eventually managed, "It's true, I'm sure of it. He's working alone. And there's only one reason to be so obsessed with one man…you fell in love with Zoro when he beat you the first time, didn't you?"

Kidd stared at Sanji, eyes burning with rage. But stunningly, despite the nosebleed, his cheeks grew red. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

Zoro sighed heavily. "And you thought raping me was the way to get my attention?"

Kidd blushed, wildly. "Don't flatter yourself! I…I…" His head lowered, and suddenly he was meek as a kitten.

Zoro watched him for a time, and purely because of his sense of justice – rather than his personal feelings – he was able to kneel before him and say, "I'm not gay. But if you want to be friends I can do that. Maybe when I get to know you better I'll change my mind."

Kidd stared up at him in disbelief.

"Zoro…" Nami murmured.

"What are you saying?" Usopp pressed. "Do you realize what this guy was about to do?"

"Zoro," Sanji's voice came sharply and drew everyone's attention. He was trembling with rage, though he could still not quite stand on his own. "That's not funny. I'm going to beat the shit out of him, if you won't, then we're taking him to the police."

"Sensei. And Usopp, and Nami," Luffy said, calmly. "It's Zoro's decision."

The other two grew quiet, but Sanji continued to glare.

Zoro sighed. "Sanji, why can't you stand?"

Sanji blinked. Then he lowered his bloody face.

"He drugged you too, right?" Sanji merely turned away. "In that case, you're not beating the shit out of anyone. But, well, I guess it's up to you, Kidd. We could do it Sanji's way I guess, although I'm really tired. So? Which sounds better? Beating and cops, or…do you want to become my nakama?"

Kidd could not stop staring at Zoro. Finally, after many long seconds, he turned his head away with a slight scoff. Zoro may have been mistaken, but he thought he saw some redness around Kidd's eyes. "If…I did…" Kidd muttered, so quietly only Zoro could hear him. "My first loyalty would always be to Higashi. Just so you know."

Zoro smirked. "Sure."

Kidd glanced furtively around the room. Then he sighed loudly. "Well, it beats getting arrested I guess. And hey, you vanilla kids over there." Nami seemed to recoil a bit at being called "vanilla". "I don't give a damn about you. I'd be Roronoa's nakama, not yours. Especially not you two, with the shoe-throwing!"

Sanji and Nami glanced at each other. Nami grinned. "Oh, did you hit him with your shoe too, Sensei?"

"I did. You did too, huh? How about that."

"Yeah, how funny."

"Good aim, too."

"Oh, it was at close range. No biggie," Nami said, blushing.

"Could you two save it?" Usopp urged, indicating the volatile atmosphere around Kidd still.

"And you're not going to try to jump me anymore?" Zoro continued.

"Hmph," Kidd scoffed proudly. "Don't get me wrong. If I see you defenseless I'll go for it."

Zoro sighed again. "That's probably the best I'm going to get, isn't it? All right. Let's take Kidd and Sanji to my place and we'll see about their injuries."

"Zoro," Sanji barked again. "This is a mistake. Don't do it. If he came with us and made just one mistake, I'd kill him."

"You becoming a murderer is something I could never forgive," Zoro shot back, sensing truth in Sanji's promise. "We've only got two other options: risk the wrath of his gang, or take him to the cops. Sanji…I'm telling you, I can't do either. You just have to accept that."

Sanji was rigid with rage, staring Zoro down as if looks could kill. But eventually his expression transformed from rage to pity and conflict. He turned away, and clearly his body was already starting to give out on him. Usopp was having trouble keeping him steady. Zoro went over to take up Sanji's other arm.

"Fine, we'll fix him up," Sanji grunted. "But don't you dare take him to my sister's house. We'll go to my place."

"Tch," Kidd grunted in annoyance.

"What was that?" Sanji demanded, struggling against Zoro and Usopp's grip. "You disappointed or something, son of a bitch?"

Kidd stuck his tongue out. "I was interested in seeing Roronoa's house. Sue me."

"Bastard," Sanji grumbled. Then, more softly, as they made their way out of the industrial park, "Zoro, you were so lucky just now. Why the hell did you come here? And come alone?"

Zoro was about to answer him, when he realized he couldn't tell him the answer. Not without revealing his feelings. He sighed. "I didn't think much about it. I'll be more careful next time."

"You're damn right you will. And…" Sanji quieted even further. "I'm sorry…"

Zoro blinked up at him. "For what?"

Sanji just sighed. "Never mind."

They took their time getting back to Sanji's apartment, at which point Sanji ordered Usopp and Nami to go home.

"Why just us, Sensei?" Usopp complained. "I've never been to Sensei's house before."

Nami, though, realized why Sanji wanted them out. He needed Luffy to stay in case Kidd acted up again, but Nami and Usopp would only serve as targets. She caught Sanji's eye and winked. "Come on, Usopp. I'll buy you some ice cream."

Usopp made a face, though they started to leave anyway. "Ice cream? Am I a little kid? I want ramen!"

"Okay, okay. Just don't dribble any on my skirt this time. That was disgusting."

Luffy was gutted. "I want ramen too…" he whined, watching the door close.

Sanji sat down painfully on the sofa. "You stay till that bastard is fixed up. Then you can have whatever's in my wallet to get your own ramen."

"Yay!"

"Oh, right," Kidd said. He reached into his pocket and handed a wallet to Luffy. "I guess you guys can have that back."

Sanji nearly rose again before Zoro's hand on his shoulder stopped him. "You bastard! You were going to rob me too?!"

Kidd shrugged, grinning maliciously. "Water under the bridge, _Sensei_."

Sanji growled. "I'd like to see your parents, you shitty punk."

"If you find them in hell, give them each a kick in the pants from me."

"Bastard…" Sanji tried to get up again, and was once again easily stopped by Zoro.

"Would you sit still?" Zoro grunted in annoyance. "Kidd's will only take a second, so calm down and sit tight for a while."

Luffy watched this with a blank look (though for him that may have been amusement). "Zoro's awfully bright today."

Zoro had already left the room in search of the first aid kit, so it was Sanji who responded. "Bright? What do you mean?"

Luffy considered with a troubled expression. "Mmm, I don't know. When I first met Zoro, he was sort of small and black, you know? He's gotten better, but especially the last few weeks, he's very bright. Like he finally has his eyes open, looking at things instead of through them."

Sanji stared, mostly just surprised at the eloquence with which the little monkey had said that. "Weirdly, I know exactly what you mean."

Kidd listened to all this quietly. Then he said, "What happened the last few weeks?"

Now it was Sanji's turn to look smug. "Hm," he scoffed, smirking. "Never mind. None of our business really. You'll have to ask him."

"Sanji's been walking him home," Luffy said unabashedly.

Sanji gaped at him. Was this kid a genius or a complete nutcase? And why was it so hard to tell the difference?

Kidd frowned deeply. He looked hard at Sanji, and continued this for many long moments, much though Sanji avoided his gaze. Sanji could guess, but he didn't want to think about what Kidd's thoughts at that time were.

Zoro reentered the room and sat Kidd down at the kitchen counter, since that was the only place with free chairs. He started cleaning off the blood, and then winced once he had a good view.

"Yeah," he said. "It's a break. You're going to want to get this looked at in the morning."

"Whatever," Kidd muttered.

"In the meantime, I've got to reset it."

Kidd recoiled a bit, which was an understandable reaction. He'd never had a broken bone set in front of his eyes before. Behind Zoro, Luffy was all wide eyes and interested expressions.

"Can I help?" He asked.

"No," answered all three men at once.

"Should I help Sensei, then? I'll help Sensei."

Zoro caught Luffy by the collar before he could reach Sanji. "You can hold him then."

"Okay."

Luffy got behind Kidd and braced his head for Zoro. Kidd was trying very hard to look tough, however the resulting expression looked much more like a mix of stress and anger. Zoro ignored this and concentrated. Kidd was already wincing when Zoro touched the sensitive bits. He would have to be both fast and accurate.

"Okay," he said. "I'll count to three. One-"

SNAP.

"Aaagh!" Kidd cried, grabbing his face as soon as Zoro's hands were free. "Mother of God! You said three!" he complained, with watering eyes.

"That was so you wouldn't tense up. I promise it would have hurt worse otherwise." Zoro resumed patching up Kidd's nose with a couple of bandages, which only took a few moments. "By the way, Luffy, you can let go of his head."

"Oh."

"He's done?" came Sanji's voice from the sofa.

"Yeah."

"Monkey. Take him out."

Without needing to be told twice, Luffy yanked Kidd by the arm out of the apartment. "Hey!" Kidd protested. "I want to talk to Roronoa some more!"

Sanji merely gave him the finger from the couch without getting up.

"Shitty teacher," Kidd cursed. "Hey, Roronoa. I can come see you again, right?"

Zoro nodded, sighing. "Yeah. And thanks, Luffy."

Luffy saluted with a grin, and dragged Kidd out.

Zoro heaved another sigh, and sat at the counter. He ran an exhausted hand through his hair. "Well that's over. I'll do yours now."

"No."

Zoro frowned. "What?"

Sanji was turned on his side with his knees tucked a bit, and Zoro couldn't quite see his face. "Go on home, Zoro. I can treat myself."

"What kind of sense does that make? I'm here. I might as well do it. Or are you waiting for me to say, 'Let's play Doctor, Sanji-niichan' or something?"

Sanji shifted a bit on the couch, and murmured. "I'm fine. I'm just tired, I want to go to sleep. Really, I'm fine. Go on back to Nee-chan, I'm sure she's worried."

Zoro was confused by this sudden change in attitude, but at that moment Sanji's legs shifted in an unusual way. Zoro blinked. He remembered back to the feeling when Kidd had drugged him. That drug, whatever it was, didn't just make you weak. It made your head swim, your blood race, and somehow that made your body react a certain way. That was no doubt its intention, but in this case it had only been intended to weaken Sanji. And he'd had no release now for several hours. Neither had he gone unconscious, like Zoro had. Zoro suddenly had a lot of respect for this man.

Instead of leaving, Zoro merely sat down on the coffee table opposite Sanji. Sanji shifted again, tucking his legs tighter against his body to try to hide his body's reaction. "I'm telling you, it's fine. He just knocked me around a bit. I've had worse."

Without responding, Zoro started to clean the blood from Sanji's face. As he did, Sanji's cheeks grew red, and his eyes fluttered, but he made no other outward sign of what he was feeling. That finished, Zoro placed one bandage at the corner of Sanji's mouth for his split lip and one over a wound on his cheek.

"Sit up," Zoro said.

Sanji turned away, trying to cover his shame.

"Come on." Zoro scooped him up around the shoulders and brought him to a seated position.

"No…Zoro…" Sanji murmured, his voice growing gradually meeker.

Then Zoro started to pull up his shirt.

"No!" Sanji cried, forcing his hands back down. He panted heavily and his face was bright red.

Zoro merely released his grip on the shirt and set his hands on top of Sanji's. "Sanji. Look at me." It took some long, hesitant moments, but eventually Sanji's large, blue eyes met Zoro's deep black ones. "I know."

Sanji considered this for a moment, and then flushed up to his ears. He covered his face.

Now that he was sitting, Sanji's erection was fairly obvious, but Zoro paid it no attention for the moment. At any rate, Sanji didn't seem to want to stop Zoro anymore, so he continued. He placed a few medicinal patches on the many bruises forming over Sanji's ribs.

"I think that's good for now," Zoro said. "Did he hurt you anywhere else? Don't lie, Sanji, I'll know if you do."

Sanji shook his head. "No. Thank you. Now really…you should go…"

"Probably. But just let me do one more thing for you, and then I'll go."

"What…?"

Zoro raised his hand, and gently stroked the line of Sanji's jaw. Sanji shivered and a slight exhalation of breath escaped him. Sanji blinked several times as if trying to clear the fog in his head. But Zoro's hand continued downward, tracing the muscles in his neck, then running along his collarbone.

"Zoro…" Sanji murmured helplessly. "Wait…"

Zoro did not wait. He pushed Sanji back to a supine position on the couch, then knelt over him. Sanji was trembling, his cheeks bright red, but there was lust in his eyes. He was trying not to look at Zoro, probably hoping this would end without him having to do anything.

Zoro's hand continued downward, being careful of the bruised places. Then he started to undo Sanji's pants. Sanji's hips twitched, and he was no longer uttering protests. However, Zoro reminded himself, he was sure he'd been just the same way. It had nothing to do with how Sanji felt about him. This was nothing more than what he'd said: he was just helping Sanji out.

Sanji's cock, when it met daylight, was rock hard and already leaking precum. "Nnn…Zoro…" Sanji murmured.

"Don't worry. I'm just helping you out. I'll forget about it tomorrow."

Zoro hesitated a moment, then placed his hand on Sanji's cock. Sanji twitched, his back arching, but he bit his lip to cover his voice. That's a pity, Zoro thought. I'll probably never get another chance; I'd like to have heard his voice.

However, calmly, Zoro stroked Sanji's cock. He moved slowly at first, and then Zoro tried to remember how he liked it. At one point, he stroked him very fast, all to Sanji's shaking hips and muffled cries, and then abruptly pressed his thumb to Sanji's urethra. Finally, Sanji let loose a strangled cry, thrusting his hips as he sprayed his own shirt with cum. He twitched and panted for many long seconds after. Finally, he relaxed against the sofa, and almost immediately passed out.

Zoro watched him quietly for a time. He looked at his hand, which contained Sanji's cum. This was weird, wasn't it? Being turned on by another man's cum? Well, however it happened, he was going to have to deal with it before he went home. But first, he snatched up a box of Kleenex, and cleaned off Sanji and his own hand. Then he lifted Sanji, and carried him into his bed. He took the time to change him into clean pajamas.

Before he left to borrow Sanji's bathroom to deal with his little problem, he sat for a moment next to Sanji on the bed. He watched him sleep peacefully for a moment. He touched Sanji's poor abused cheek. Then he leaned down softly to place a gentle kiss against Sanji's cut lips. "Sorry, Sanji. I'm sure I'll grow out of it soon. I'll try anyway."

Then he sighed loudly and headed for the bathroom. "At least he didn't call me 'Emiko' this time."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Sanji woke up at about two a.m. He groaned. His head was killing him, and slowly he started to remember why the rest of his body hurt so much too. Kidd, he thought, and he growled. He couldn't believe Zoro's reaction, how could he stop from kicking his teeth in after all that bastard had done to him?! Then, slowly, the last bit of his memory came back to him. Zoro. He blushed deeply. What had he done? With his own nephew! Albeit he was drugged, he still should have had more self-control!

There was something else, too. Why had Zoro agreed to do that? First off, Sanji was sure that Zoro still wasn't that fond of him despite the fact that he was tolerating him much better recently. But neither was he the type to play a prank like that on someone he disliked. Sanji knew that Zoro was a deeply caring young man, despite his harsh exterior. Maybe that was it; maybe he was sympathetic because of his own experience. Still…was pity enough to make someone jack off another man?

His slightly parental instinct toward Zoro told him that he needed to find out why he'd done that. Zoro should know that that wasn't something a decent young man should do. On the other hand…Sanji wasn't sure he could bear the embarrassment of bringing it up. Zoro had also said he would forget about it. So…was it okay?

Sanji sighed heavily. In addition, there was no way he'd be going back to sleep after that, so he decided to set up his classes for the next few days to make up for the day he'd missed. He was going to get some flack for that.

Unfortunately, his lack of sleep showed on his face in class that day. Though Zoro unsurprisingly ignored him before class, a rather annoying student of his called Bellamy burst out laughing when he saw him.

"Sensei!" he crowed, with his hyena-like laugh. "What did you get up to last night? You look like a panda hung over!" Bellamy's group of friends also chuckled.

Sanji bonked him lightly on the head. "Sit down," he barked.

One of the sweeter girls in class, Vivi, remarked, "Really, Sensei, your face is covered in wounds! What happened?"

"Ahh, don't worry, Vivi-chan, I just fell down the stairs yesterday," Sanji replied, in a softer tone.

The rest of the class made disappointed noises, obviously hoping for a good story. He could see Nami and Usopp looking on with concern, Zoro's gaze still calmly on his notes, and Luffy looking blankly ahead as usual. He sighed, and started the class. Throughout the day, overall, every single class had to overreact about his wounds and obvious lack of sleep. The Vice Principle Igaram even came to chew him out for being a bad example. It was not Sanji's best day ever.

He finished preparations for the next day in the staff room, and went to meet Zoro after club practice. And then something happened to make his bad day even worse. He saw a familiar spikey head on top of a punk ass Higashi High student, leaning against the school gate as if he belonged there. His lip curled instinctively. He approached the gate.

He slammed his foot against the brick wall Kidd was leaning on. Kidd glowered back at him. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Sanji growled.

Kidd smirked imperiously at him. "Roronoa said I could come see him again, so here I am."

Sanji blew smoke in his face in annoyance, removing his foot from the very slight dent he'd made in the brick. "You took him seriously? He played you, moron. He just wanted to get rid of you."

He expected a big reaction from someone as hot-headed as Kidd. Though the anger was clearly burning in his gaze, he also analyzed Sanji's words. "I don't think so. But it doesn't matter."

"Why?"

Kidd surveyed the teacher for a moment. "He's not gay. I assume you know that too."

"What?" Sanji tried not to look panicked. "Why should I care?"

A flicker of amusement passed over Kidd's face. "I thought so. It's one-sided right?" Sanji's jaw dropped, completely unable to process what Kidd was suggesting. "Well, of course it is. He may acknowledge you as his protector for now, but that's only a matter of time. Anyway, you're old enough to be his father, which is kind of gross."

For Sanji, that was a doubly deep blow. "I…am…twenty-five goddamn it! No, that's not the issue, don't start making this about me!"

Kidd glared at him. "I think you started it."

"Started about you! You are not welcome in this equation, get that straight!"

"What are you doing?"

Sanji whirled around. Zoro was standing behind him, had been apparently for some time, though Kidd had said nothing to warn him. Sanji glanced back at him to find Kidd wearing a very ill-concealed smirk. Bastard.

"Pest control," Sanji mumbled.

"What?"

"Nothing. How was practice?"

Zoro sighed. "It's weird how you suddenly ask me normal dad-type things sometimes. Just stick to perversion and being awkward and emotional."

Kidd snorted.

Sanji blushed. "Sorry for caring, I guess!" He self-consciously put out his cigarette in a portable ash tray and lit up another. Zoro started walking so the other two followed. Sanji pointedly stepped between Kidd and Zoro.

Kidd looked displeased, then he smirked. "What, Sensei? You falling for me too?"

"Your spikey hair must have poked holes in your brain," Sanji grumbled, taking a drag. "More importantly, go the fuck home. You've seen him, haven't you? Take a hint."

Despite his high-handed attitude earlier, Kidd glanced briefly at Zoro with what might have been apprehension. Zoro had been spacing out, but when the silence continued he glanced at Kidd, then back to the sidewalk. "Is he hurting anything, Sanji?"

Sanji gaped at him, stunned that Zoro didn't find his intervention helpful. What was Zoro thinking? "Well…it's not…"

"No, right? Then let it go. You're starting to sound like a broken record."

Sanji's jaw tightened. This was ridiculous. Zoro was just courting danger. But…if Zoro didn't want him to interfere, there was nothing he could do for the moment. Nevertheless, he would never allow Zoro to be put in another situation like that again, even if it meant being hated by him. He would do whatever it took to protect him from that. Still…being hated by Zoro was something he did not want. Even this childish interaction, where Sanji felt he was clearly losing to this violent punk, was almost painful.

These complicated emotions swirled around in Sanji and he grew silent. The rest of the walk home was fairly quiet, and mostly filled with Kidd asking Zoro questions about himself, which Zoro answered politely but distantly. As they approached the house, Sanji got a bad feeling. Normally, Sanji would stay for dinner and even cook if possible. But he really didn't want Kidd to know where Zoro and Robin lived. And if he made a fuss, Zoro would just get mad at him again. Also, he was getting a very bad feeling that Kidd might be welcome at dinner too, and that was just going too far. But what could he do?

"This is my street," Zoro said, nodding toward the house. He had stopped walking.

Sanji stopped too, finding it odd, as apparently did Kidd, who followed suit.

"Sorry, but dinner at my house is just a family thing," Zoro continued, speaking to Kidd. Sanji's eyes widened.

"Oh," Kidd muttered, hiding his disappointment. "I'll see you to the house then."

"Not this time," Zoro said calmly, without a flicker of doubt. "But I'll see you again tomorrow if you want."

Sanji had a weird moment where he felt pity when he saw Kidd's expression then. But it was fleeting. Kidd nodded. "Okay. See you."

Sanji blinked, watching Kidd wave and walk away in amazement. He glanced at Zoro. When he saw his expression, his heart fluttered strangely; Zoro may have been faintly blushing, his eyes distant, and a trace of uncertainty in them. Nothing like his face when he had looked at Kidd just now. And even though he was looking down, Sanji could tell somehow that Zoro's attention was on him. It made his heart quicken.

"Let's go," Zoro said, turning and starting to walk again.

Sanji blinked. "Yeah."

All of a sudden, Sanji remembered what Zoro had done to him yesterday, and went bright red. Why was he remembering that now?! He should just forget about it altogether! Well…probably he should, but then he did want to know why Zoro had done that, and make sure he knew it wasn't something to be done so easily, especially with a family member. A male one at that. But then Zoro had said to forget about it…

"Zoro…" Sanji murmured.

"Yeah?"

"You've…had girlfriends before, right? Or…something?"

Sanji nearly tripped when Zoro's face reddened. Had he ever seen Zoro blush before? But his voice was still calm as he said, "Why is that your business?"

"Uh…right. Valid question. Well…" Sanji felt increasingly nervous as he spoke. It didn't feel like something he should be talking about with his nephew. Or that anyone should be talking about with Zoro. Just too weird. "I'm sure your dad told you all the important stuff, I was just concerned…"

Now Zoro flicked a glare his way. "Concerned about what?"

"Well…that you might be taken advantage-of…"

Zoro's eyes widened, suddenly filled with rage. Without another word, he stormed up to his door, and slammed it before Sanji could even get close. Apparently, he was not welcome for dinner either. He sighed. He wondered what Roger would have done in this situation.

The next day, Zoro barely looked at him. Even as they walked home, though Kidd and Zoro occasionally spoke, Zoro's mood was dark and he didn't seem talkative.

Kidd seemed to notice. "You're acting like you've got a thorn in your paw, Roronoa."

Zoro's eyebrow twitched. "Do you have to refer to me like an animal?"

"Sure," Kidd grinned. "Tigers are sexy."

Zoro blushed while Sanji rounded on Kidd with a glare. "Watch it, asshole," Sanji growled, hoping Zoro didn't hear.

"Watch it yourself, perverted teacher," Zoro grunted. "I told you to lay off Kidd. The whole reason he's here is so we can get to know him, but you're not even trying."

Sanji was gutted. He wanted to retort, but he bit his lip. He felt that if he fought with Zoro now, he might not be forgiven. All the same, he didn't have any plans for warming up to the bastard Kidd any time soon. He kept his silence.

They got to Zoro's street and parted with Kidd. Then they walked to Zoro's house in silence. Zoro paused at the genkan. Then he said, "Robin's not home today. Maybe you shouldn't stay."

Sanji blinked. "That's right. She has a conference." He thought for a moment, then raised a satirical eyebrow. "She's not home. Which is as much as to say you've been eating bread all day."

Zoro scoffed, but he didn't deny it.

"It's fine if you don't want me to stay, but I'm making you some dinner before I go. Deal with it."

Zoro cast his gaze down with an expression Sanji didn't quite understand. "Suit yourself," he muttered softly.

"Do you have any fresh ingredients?"

Zoro shrugged.

"You don't, right?" Sanji sighed. He handed Zoro his suitcase. "I'll go shopping then. It should take me less than an hour, but can you wait till then?"

Zoro was already going inside. "Whatever."

Sanji growled in annoyance, but set off for the store anyway.

He got ingredients for a seafood pasta, pleasantly surprised by the quality of the fish today, and finished shopping much faster than he thought. He came right inside the house, knowing neither Robin nor Zoro ever followed his advice about locking the door when they were home. He didn't find Zoro in the front room or the kitchen, but he set to cooking anyway, and was finished in minutes. Just in case Zoro decided to let him stay, he made enough for two.

Strangely, Zoro had not appeared. Sanji started to get a little worried, so he went upstairs to Zoro's room to see if he was maybe sleeping. In case he was, Sanji went quietly. He pressed his ear to the door, totally missing how perverse it was that he was spying on his nephew. He was more than a little shocked by what he heard.

Zoro was panting and letting out soft moans now and then. There was no mistaking those sounds.

Sanji stood bolt upright and tried to pretend he wasn't wildly blushing. Well, hang on, Zoro was of that age. It was normal to be doing that stuff, especially when he had the house to himself. Sanji started to quietly turn away when he heard something he could not ignore.

"S-…San-…ji…!"

He froze on the spot. Unfortunately, more was to come.

"Ahh…Sanji…more…"

Sanji swallowed hard.

"Ahh…hah…cumming!"

Sanji remained frozen for precious moments, when his body was too shocked to respond to his commands. Finally, he broke free of this spell, and did something he had always been taught never to do. He ran away.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Fortunately, the next day was a Saturday, so he wouldn't have to see Zoro. Sanji was feeling way too overwhelmed even when Zoro wasn't around. His feelings were obviously very complicated. Unfortunately, what worried him the most was how his heart and body reacted to hearing Zoro say his name that way. It was bad.

To try and forget about his troubles, he invited some friends over for some mahjong and drinking. The first to arrive was the English teacher at their school, Franky. He spoke fluent Japanese, but his American sensibilities never really waned. The history teacher, Brook, and the infirmary sensei, Chopper, arrived soon after.

"Sempai!" Chopper said, happily. Sanji always thought he resembled a cute little animal, and had quite naturally taken him under his wing when he was hired. "I haven't been over here in ages! How have you been? Ah! Everyone was saying it, but it's true! You're all beat up!"

Sanji shrugged, trying not to show his dismay.

"Sanji-kun," said Brook, forced to lean down to speak because of his prodigious height. "The school was all a-buzz today with rumors about you. Chopper-kun and I were very concerned."

Franky slapped Sanji roughly on the back. "Partying a bit too hard, huh? What, her husband come home or something?" He laughed loudly.

Sanji glared at him. "I do not fool around with married women. Let's just play, huh? I don't want to talk about it."

"First let me take a look at your injuries," Chopper insisted.

Sanji sighed.

Once Chopper was satisfied that they were healing nicely, they sat down and Sanji offered everyone beer. He and Franky lit up as they started the game, though Franky only smoked cigars, and only when he was playing mahjong or poker.

Sanji tried to stay intensely focused on the tiles, using everyone else's conversation to hide himself in banality. He didn't want to think about anything. For a while, he was able to do just that. Unfortunately…

"So," said Franky, taking a puff. "Did you hear Smoker-sensei from economics got caught with a student?"

Sanji choked on smoke. The other three glanced at him. "Are you all right, sempai?" Chopper asked with concern.

He waved his hand dismissively and absently rearranged his tiles, desperately hoping someone else would talk.

"That's unfortunate, isn't it?" Brook commented. "Ah, _riichi_," he said, and deposited a 1000-point stick.

"I don't get it," Chopper said, shaking his head sadly. "I mean, I know it happens a lot in our line of work, but how could you think of a student that way?"

Sanji's limbs all suddenly felt twitchy. He covered his face with his hand and tapped his index finger on the table unconsciously.

"Hey, don't knock it till you've tried it," Franky said, grinning. He indicated Brook's meld and placed it beside his wall, saying, "_Chii_."

Chopper and Brook looked scandalized. Sanji glanced up as well, feeling a flicker of hope for his situation. "You mean…you've…" Chopper stammered, blushing.

Franky snorted. "As if." Sanji's heart sank. "All I'm saying is, yeah, of course it's wrong. But sometimes you just gotta be wrong. Love is a many-splendored thing, as they say." He took a puff for added dramatic effect and grinned.

Chopper gazed in wonder, easily swayed by at least the semblance of manly experience. Then he blinked and looked down, still blushing. "I wouldn't really know."

Franky ruffled Chopper's hair and Sanji smiled at him too. "You just stay that way, pipsqueak."

"That's how we like you," Sanji added.

Brook chuckled.

"You ever been with a younger woman, big man?" Franky asked of Brook.

Brook blushed a little too. "I don't think I would object, assuming she was of age. But not yet, no." He scratched his cheek awkwardly with a light laugh. "Getting a bit late in the game for me, though."

"Don't say that until you're dead," Sanji said, observing his tiles in a dark cloud of his own thoughts.

"Have you, Sanji-kun?" Brook asked, interestedly.

Sanji flushed darkly, but tried to play it off casually. "Not my thing. And anyway…" his voice softened. "Kids their age…their affection doesn't last. It's just like a fever with them, and fades just as quickly."

Brook and Franky exchanged glances. "Would that be the voice of experience?" Brook asked politely.

Sanji snapped out of his trance. "Of course not. I'm not completely lacking in morals."

Franky gazed at him for a moment, then he sighed, setting his cigar in Sanji's ashtray. "That's not very convincing. Why don't you try again? Why did you really call us all over tonight?"

Sanji blushed, ashamed that he had been caught so easily. He sighed, leaning his head in his hand in exasperation. "What's the point? I'm just getting ahead of myself."

Franky and Brook exchanged glances and then nodded sagely. Chopper looked between them in confusion. "What's her name?" Franky asked with a smirk.

"She doesn't exist. And none of your business."

Brook smiled interestedly. "My, my. I don't think I've ever seen you so serious, Sanji-kun. She must be quite a girl."

Chopper blinked his wide eyes. "Sempai, are you in love with a younger woman?"

Sanji went bright red. "Shut up! I'm not in love, and there is no younger woman, so leave it alone!"

"Weirdly, that sounds like the truth," Franky muttered, suspiciously.

"Yes, but I believe he's still hiding something," Brook observed.

"Oh. Zoro-kun," said Chopper. All eyes whirled to him, Sanji's practically popping out of his head. Chopper picked up a keychain. "This is Zoro-kun's, right? How nice that he comes to visit you. What a dutiful nephew."

Franky and Brook looked long and hard at each other and slowly turned to Sanji. Sanji was hiding his face in one hand and tapping anxiously with the other. He was blushing madly and could not think of an excuse for his reaction just now, but he was well aware that he was giving himself away.

Luckily, the most judgmental of the group had not figured it out yet, so for the moment anyway, he was safe from a lecture.

"So," Franky said innocently, as Chopper discarded. "This imaginary person…is it mutual?"

All three of them looked intently at Sanji.

Sanji discarded in annoyance, trying to avoid their stares. "There is no person. Would you lay off?"

"Ah. _Tsumo_," said Brook, flipping over his tiles. The other three all sighed, and they tallied up and then shuffled again.

"Sanji," Franky said, unusually serious. "We're your friends. If you're upset, we want to help. We won't judge you either."

Sanji groaned. "I just want to play."

"Badly, though," Chopper murmured, quietly. "You've lost points the last three hands."

Sanji slammed his fist on the table, sending tiles jumping wildly. He hurt himself though, and rubbed his hand, trying to avoid their gazes. "I'm just a sick old man," he muttered. "I shouldn't be allowed near kids."

Franky considered. "Well. It's not like I don't know how you feel, cowboy. And like I said, I'm not going to judge you. All I want to know is whether this imaginary person feels the same about you."

"And like I said, why does that matter?" Sanji muttered, accepting his tiles and flipping them up. "Kids are like magpies, they're always in search of the next shiny thing. The harder it is to get to, the more they want it."

"Meaning you don't think her feelings are serious," Chopper guessed.

Sanji didn't answer for a moment, moving one of his tiles around in his fingers. "I didn't say that."

"Then why the magpie metaphor?" Brook asked, interestedly.

Sanji ruffled his own hair to hide his face. "Those feelings…they're very real. For now. But they won't last long. And the fact that I'm off-limits just makes it more exciting. Is that love?"

Franky discarded. "Now," he muttered, puffing. "Don't you think you might not be giving his person enough credit? There are young people after all," he said, knowingly, "who are more mature than adults."

Sanji cast his gaze away, refusing to acknowledge the sentiment.

Chopper considered. "Hm. Well, it's pretty rare, but I suppose that's true. Like Zoro-kun, for example." All the eyebrows in the room shot up, wondering if Chopper was either smarter or even dimmer than he seemed.

"Yes," Franky said, smirking. "Take Zoro-kun, for example. Now, if he had confessed to you, wouldn't you believe him?"

Chopper and Brook both nodded. Chopper added, "He's such a nice boy. Even though he's a bit gruff, he always helps people get to my office if they're too sick or injured to come alone. Even if they're not in his class."

Brook smiled softly at Sanji. "You are very lucky to have such a kind nephew, Sanji-kun. And a fine student, except for English I believe."

Franky waved dismissively. "He's just too Japanese, that's all. I think there's a personality disconnect sometimes when trying to learn another language."

"How did you ever learn Japanese?" Sanji muttered.

The other three all laughed. "So yes," Franky continued. "Let's say it was Zoro-kun who had confessed to you. Don't you think someone like that would be plenty serious from the start?"

Sanji glanced down at his tiles, blushing. "Even…if I did…" He shook his head heavily. "Why am I even talking about this? Why am I even thinking about it? I just have to let them down easy, that's all there is to it."

Chopper looked up at him. "Sanji-sempai…it's probably none of my business but…I think you're in love."

Sanji stared at him. The other two glanced up as well.

Chopper considered, then continued, "I've seen you date plenty of women before. Even fall for women who were out of your reach. But I've never seen you like this." He met Sanji's gaze. "I gather this person is a student, and I can't approve of that. Rather, I wouldn't normally. But if it's someone who can make you fall in love like this and who loves you too, I think you should just be happy about that. And also, wait until she's 18."

Sanji watched his kouhai for a time, and slowly his gaze fell. Was that right? But no…Chopper didn't know all the details. And no, of course he wasn't in love with Zoro (Sanji later pretended that this was the first thing he'd noticed). He was…wavering. Wavering, no more than that. He'd never loved a man before anyway, he wasn't about to start with his nephew.

"Oh, by the way, _chinroutou_," Chopper said, flipping over his tiles.

The other three all groaned loudly and they tallied up and shuffled again. Sanji tried to remain quiet for the rest of the evening. Thankfully, his friends also seemed to sense the topic was finished and switched to talking about attractive actresses.

Sanji spent the whole of Sunday fruitlessly searching for a solution. By the time Monday arrived, all he had managed to do was increase the rings around his eyes, something Bellamy did not fail to notice. But when Sanji arrived in class, he searched the room briefly. Zoro was not there. Well, he was back on form with getting lost again, Sanji thought to himself.

Zoro missed the whole of first period. Sanji was worried, but it had happened before. He was going to drop it when a thought occurred to him. Kidd knew where Zoro lived. Well, more or less. What if something had happened after Sanji left? It was almost unthinkable, but Sanji couldn't just let it go now. As soon as the thought occurred to him, he hastily dropped by the staff room to say the words "family emergency" very loudly, and ran out.

He raced to Zoro's home at top speed. He flung open the door. Zoro was not in the front room or the kitchen. He ran upstairs and slammed the door open. His breath caught in his throat. His worse fears were confirmed. Kidd was standing over Zoro, who was laid out on the bed and looking bleary. He seemed to be unbuttoning Zoro's pajamas. Sanji completely snapped.

With a superhuman roundhouse kick, he sent Kidd crashing into the closet by the neck. Then he knelt by Zoro.

"Zoro?" he asked, worriedly, touching Zoro's cheek.

Zoro glared at him for a moment. Then suddenly, Sanji's head went completely white as Zoro head-butted him. It took Sanji some moments to recover, during which time Kidd painfully rose from the clutter.

"Moron," Zoro grunted, though he was flushed and panting. "I'm sick. I called him to bring me some medicine."

Sanji blinked. Oh. He had completely misunderstood the situation.

"W-well, why was he undressing you?!"

"Dressing, not undressing," Kidd grumbled, though he was blushing a bit. "He was all sweaty so I helped him change."

Sanji's temper flared. "You son of a bitch…"

"Sanji, enough," Zoro muttered, tugging on his sleeve. Then he turned away and started to cough. It was a wet cough, and it sounded like he was having difficulty breathing.

Kidd meekly approached, watching him. "He's been like that ever since I got here. Keeps saying it's just a flu."

Zoro struggled to gain back his breath and grunted, "That's because it is. I've had it before. I'll be better in a few hours, it's always like this. Now both of you go away and let me sleep."

Sanji folded his arms. "Like that was going to happen. Go ahead and sleep, but I'm staying here."

"Me too," Kidd muttered.

"Think again," Sanji barked. "Here's my reasoning: quick, hands up everybody who's tried to drug and rape more than one person in this room!"

Kidd flinched, looking away bitterly. "Don't talk like I'd ever go after your ass on purpose, ossan. You were just collateral damage."

Sanji fumed, especially at being called "ossan" again. "Why do I have to be rejected by a bastard like you?!"

"Enough!" Zoro roared, and promptly resumed coughing. However, Sanji and Kidd were both shamed into silence. Eventually he said, "You can both stay, or both go. And frankly I'd prefer the latter. Kidd, thank you for helping me. I'll be fine now."

Kidd looked unconvinced, but nevertheless he rose to his feet. Sanji stared at him. "If you say so. Call me if you feel any worse," he said softly. Zoro nodded, coughing a bit more. Kidd glared at Sanji. "Come on, ossan."

Sanji gritted his teeth. He sat there bitterly for a moment, then he glanced at Zoro. Zoro met his gaze, determined despite his obvious discomfort. Sanji glanced down again. "Fine," he said at last. He rose. "I'll come and check on you later, Zoro. Have you called Nee-chan?"

Zoro shook his head. "Don't call her, it's not a big deal."

Sanji snorted. "You still don't get this mother-child thing, do you? I'm calling her, and I'm telling her I have it under control, and to relax and come home when she finishes her conference. So you just have to get better. Got that?"

To Sanji's surprise, Zoro actually smiled a little. "You're a dork," Zoro muttered, then turned over and tried to go to sleep.

Sanji turned to leave when he saw Kidd quietly watching Zoro. His expression made Sanji pause. His normal venomous scowl was all but gone. His eyebrows were gently drawn together, his eyes down-turned. There was no mistaking it; that face was one of sadness. Somehow, seeing this brought back some of Sanji's maturity. He started to think about things from Kidd's perspective; that of a lovesick teenager. That was a state of being Sanji never wished to return to.

He sighed. "Come on, Attila. I'll buy you an ice cream or something."

Kidd glared at him. "Try it, old man."

Sanji walked Kidd to the door, and then he lost his maturity again. He shoved Kidd quickly out the door and then closed and locked the door behind him.

"Hey!" Kidd roared from the other side, banging on the door.

"I want you to listen, punk," Sanji said, just loud enough for Kidd to hear, but hopefully quiet enough that Zoro could not. "I'm never going to forgive you for what you've done. But I'm willing to admit that you don't mean any harm anymore. Having said that…me and Nee-chan are all this little idiot has." He felt the silence on the other side of the door, but knew Kidd was still listening. "I'll do anything in my power to keep him safe. That frankly has nothing to do with whatever new leaf you may have turned over. Hang around as long as you want, that's not going to change."

There was another long moment of silence. Then, softly, "Hey, ossan."

Sanji snarled. "What?"

"Do you think he'll ever figure out how much he's loved?"

Sanji was floored by what he had just heard. He closed his fists against the door, disgusted with himself. "I'm not sure…" he murmured, not sure if he said it loud enough to be heard. "Go home, Kidd." Then, without waiting to see whether he did or not, Sanji returned to Zoro's room.

He tried to come in silently, hoping Zoro was able to get to sleep. From what he could tell, he was either asleep or too tired to bother greeting Sanji as he returned. With no real purpose, Sanji sat on the floor beside the bed, leaning his elbow there and watching the back of Zoro's head. He was suddenly struck by how young Zoro was. He sometimes forgot because of his maturity and gruff face, but Zoro was still just a kid. Sanji rubbed his face with his hand. What was he thinking?

Kidd's words echoed again through his mind. Sanji gritted his teeth. And that was the last time he lied to himself about how he felt about Zoro. Sanji looked up at him balefully. Unable to stop himself, he reached up and lightly ran his hands through Zoro's hair. He was so warm. Albeit he most likely had a fever. Sanji continued this for some time as he finally admitted: it was already too late. Whatever happened between them now, the fact was that he was already in love with Zoro.

It was then that Zoro's eyes opened. He shifted to turn towards Sanji, who politely removed his hand from Zoro's hair, blushing and hoping Zoro was too bleary to think much about it. But Zoro's eyes were clear and lucid as they gazed at Sanji.

"Where's Kidd?" Zoro asked.

Sanji looked down. He really didn't want to be hated by Zoro. "I kicked him out and locked the door," he muttered, honestly.

To Sanji's surprise, Zoro snorted. Sanji glanced up at him. While smirking, Zoro muttered, "You're never going to warm up to him, are you?"

"Do I have any reason to?"

Zoro shook his head, though he was still smirking. "Sanji…I wanted you to leave because I sometimes say weird things when I'm sick. I tend to get emotional and have no filter on what I say. I get a little too honest for my own good."

Sanji frowned. "What do you mean?"

Zoro scratched his head. "Well. If I haven't said anything yet, I suppose I shouldn't jinx myself. Speaking of which, how come you're not at work?"

Sanji flinched. "I took a personal day."

Zoro chuckled again. "You really are a bit too good to me sometimes."

"Why do you say things like that?" Sanji asked sadly, remembering Kidd's words again. "There are people, me included, who love you and want to take care of you." Sanji didn't miss Zoro's sudden flush at what he just said, but he kept going anyway. "Nee-chan most of all. And also that Monkey and your other little friends. How would you feel if they didn't let you protect and take care of them?"

Zoro blushed again and said nothing. Suddenly, Sanji was starting to feel embarrassed too, and he looked away.

"Anyway…" Sanji mumbled. "What I mean is…it's my pleasure."

When Sanji happened to glance up, Zoro was bright red like he'd never seen him before, his brows drawn together in distress, his eyes even glistening slightly. Slowly, Zoro sat up. Sanji tried to help him, nervously, but Zoro merely grabbed Sanji's shoulders.

Zoro slid down to Sanji's level. Then, into his ear he whispered, "This is probably just the fever. Don't think about it too much."

"Wh-…" Sanji nearly spoke.

Then, Zoro's calloused hands tilted up his face, and before he could react, Zoro's lips met his own. Sanji's eyes went wide. His higher self was panicking, knowing this was wrong but not sure what to do about it. His lower half was very approving. He was trapped psychologically for a time in a bit of a moral minefield, during which time Zoro managed to open his mouth and twine their tongues together.

Sanji let out a soft moan. He had a sensitive tongue. And now there was no denying his body's reaction; it would be obvious if Zoro merely glanced down. Zoro's thick tongue licked and twirled with Sanji's for a while, then ran briefly along Sanji's teeth. Sanji moaned. Immediately, his eyes widened. Adult men did not make noises like that. What was wrong with him?! He'd never made such noises with women. Well, a couple of times, but that was down to the girl in question's particular kink.

But now that he'd had a brief flash of sanity, he knew this was his only chance to stop. He very reluctantly pushed Zoro back. "Zoro…" he murmured.

Unfortunately, he happened to glance up. He saw the moment cross Zoro's face, from enjoying himself to being heartbroken. Sanji hadn't even said anything. Zoro already knew everything he was going to say. But despite his obvious sadness, despite what anyone else might have done, Zoro did not turn away or hide. He waited patiently for Sanji to break his heart.

Sanji's chest nearly tore itself in two. He gritted his teeth, struggling to make the right decision. But for the moment, he was powerless against Zoro's expression. "Zoro…" Sanji murmured. And Nee-chan…he added to himself. "I'm sorry." Then, he took Zoro's face in his hands and pulled him into another kiss. Now it was Zoro's turn to moan lightly.

They kissed gently but deeply for a time, and then Zoro easily pulled Sanji into bed with him. "Ah…" Sanji murmured. "Wait…" But at that moment, Zoro lightly bit down on Sanji's neck while at the same time sticking his hand up his shirt. "Nnh…" Sanji moaned. "Zoro, you moron…you're a virgin, aren't you? What do you think you're doing?"

Zoro let his head fall back on the pillows, meeting Sanji's eyes. It may have been the fever, but Zoro's expression looked so unbelievably sexy at that moment. He swallowed and said, "Am I doing it wrong?"

Sanji's heart pounded and his cock twitched. "Just…shut up," he muttered, and claimed Zoro's lips again.

Sanji was completely unable to stop. The heat of Zoro's body, his expressions, the little noises he was making, everything was driving him crazy. Even though Sanji had never been with a man before, somehow it didn't matter at all. Quite the contrary, Zoro was sexier than any woman he'd ever been with.

"I am such a bad man," Sanji muttered.

"Yeah," Zoro agreed, smirking. "Since I'm a minor, I guess that makes you a criminal."

"Don't remind me, you punk." Sanji ravaged Zoro's lips once again, and somehow without realizing it, he wrapped his hands around Zoro's thighs, and unconsciously pulled Zoro's legs around him and thrust their hips together.

"Ah!" Zoro cried, breaking their kiss. Sanji panted as well, thrilled by that response, which was so out of character for Zoro. "W-wait…" Zoro murmured. "Are you topping? I wanted to be on top…"

Sanji snorted. "Yeah? Fair enough," he said, still stroking Zoro's thigh. "Let's forget the fact that I'm older, and more lairy, and that you're sick. How much sex have you had in your life, baby bird?"

Zoro growled. "Okay, then. How much sex have you had with men, you insufferable pervert?"

He's got me there, Sanji thought nervously. "That's…immaterial. Tell you what, I do understand your feelings," he said, while tilting his head gently into the curve of Zoro's neck and speaking against his skin. "But I have to tell you, I can't stop anymore." He might have imagined it, but Zoro seemed to shiver a little as he said this. "So as long as I'm throwing morals out the window, I'm going to fuck you as hard as I can."

Zoro panted hard, his fingers digging into Sanji's shoulders. "Sick old man," he murmured, but whether consciously or not, he pulled Sanji closer to him.

Deciding that was all the encouragement he needed, Sanji slammed his lips against Zoro's once more, taking the opportunity to grab Zoro's ass at the same time. Zoro gasped against his lips again, and Sanji was sure Zoro's hips weakly thrust against his. Sanji deeply licked the roof of Zoro's mouth desperately, then he drew back and started kissing Zoro's neck. Zoro made suck cute noises, Sanji's cock was starting to ache.

Sanji thrust Zoro's shirt up so he could begin an attack on his nipples. Zoro was trembling and twitching, and clearly trying desperately not to make any more noise. Sanji licked and bit his nipples, causing Zoro to pant and bite his lip. Then Sanji drew back a bit.

"This is tough. Since you're sick, we'll have to keep as much of your clothes on as possible." He pulled Zoro's shirt back down, and caught a glimpse of disappointment on Zoro's face.

"Well…" Zoro murmured, hesitantly. "We can't get far if I don't take my pants off."

Sanji thought for a moment. He glanced at the bag of medicine Kidd had left by the bed. Then a smirk spread across his face. "Have you taken any cold medicine yet?"

Zoro looked confused. "Not yet…why?"

"No reason," Sanji said, still smirking.

Then, in one move, he pulled Zoro's pants down to his upper thighs. Zoro gasped. But Sanji didn't pull them down any further. Next, he pushed Zoro's legs up over his head.

"Ah…wha-…!" Zoro mumbled, confused.

Sanji leaned suggestively against him, then took both of Zoro's hands, and placed them at the backs of his own knees. "Just hold them up like that. No need to undress you any further."

Zoro was bright red and trembling with embarrassment, trying to hide his face against the pillow. Still, he obeyed. "I'll get you back for this, old man. As soon as I'm better. I'll make you beg."

Sanji chuckled. "Do your worst."

Then Sanji did his best to make Zoro scream. He ran his hands down Zoro's thighs, and lifted his ass up slightly, propping him up on his elbows while Sanji leaned down to get a good look at Zoro's package. He heard a very small whimper of embarrassment from Zoro as he did so.

It was weird. Sanji had no affection for men whatsoever. He found them crude, ugly and useless. In fact, he rarely watched any porn unless it was girl-on-girl only, lest he happen to catch a glimpse of another man's junk. But he did not feel that familiar disgust now. Quite the contrary…his mouth was watering.

Zoro was still young, so he hardly had any hair around his cock. The skin around his balls and especially his cock was still pink and ripe like a fruit. His cock itself was on the large side when erect (as it was now), but Sanji would still call it cute. Before he realized it, he found himself pushing Zoro's thighs slightly farther apart, so he could run his tongue along the shaft of Zoro's cock.

"Mmf!" Zoro's back arched as he bit his lip and desperately held back more noise. His hips continued vaguely twitching long afterward.

There was no denying it. Sanji liked that. This time, he unhesitatingly took Zoro's whole cock into his mouth.

Zoro's hips twitched uncontrollably, and Sanji could feel his leg muscles flexing beside his head. At length, Zoro released his lip from his mouth and panted heavily. "Sanji…" he gasped. "Stop…I've never…it's too much…"

Sanji blushed. He knew Zoro was a virgin, but for some reason it never occurred to him that this might be Zoro's first blow job. Somehow that was very exciting. Rather than removing his mouth to reassure Zoro, he made a swallowing motion and applied more suction.

"Aahhh…!" Zoro cried, twitching. "Sto-…Sanji…!"

Then, quite by accident, Sanji's thumb touched Zoro's asshole. Actually, it wasn't completely by accident, he sometimes did that while sucking women and his body was moving on its own. But once he did, he found he liked the idea. He pressed lightly against it.

"Mmm!" Zoro's hips bucked and then his whole body tensed for many long seconds, as he coated the back of Sanji's throat with cum. Sanji choked a bit, surprised that Zoro had cum so soon, but he kept Zoro's cock in his mouth until his body relaxed and he fell back against the bed, panting.

Sanji swallowed what he could, and slowly lifted his head from Zoro's softening cock. Well, it was softer than it had been a second ago, although it didn't seem like it was going to go completely down again for a while. Sanji ran a thumb along his mouth to collect the excess, then licked it clean while Zoro was watching him. He saw Zoro's cock twitch again.

"Hand me that bag," he said, indicating the bag of medicine.

Zoro looked confused, but he obeyed. "What do you want that for?"

Sanji shrugged, though he was smirking. "You said you hadn't taken any yet."

"So?"

Sanji found what he was looking for, a bottle of cough syrup. Zoro still looked confused, but he wasn't for long. Sanji turned it over and coated Zoro's asshole with it.

"Ah!" Zoro cried in a panic. "That's…not…it's not going to help my cough from there, moron!"

"True. But it still has acetaminophen, so it should help your fever."

"Not from there it won't!"

Sanji shrugged. "You never know."

With that, he began to massage the outside Zoro's asshole. Zoro moaned a bit, biting his lip again. "It's going to make the sheets all sticky," Zoro moaned, though he was losing his ability to protest.

"I'll change them before I go. Now stop complaining and concentrate on what my fingers are doing to you."

Sanji's middle finger slipped inside. Zoro let out a shiver and a soft moan. Sanji gently pushed it inside, allowing the muscles to relax around it. He moved it around for a while, then smoothly added a second finger. This time Zoro flinched a little; so that one hurt, Sanji observed. He slowed down, and simply flexed his fingers without move them in and out for a while. Soon, Zoro was soft enough to add a third finger. This time he grunted a bit, and Sanji was sure that one must have hurt him, but then, in surprise, he glanced down to see Zoro fully erect again. He swallowed heavily.

Without being able to resist, though with his fingers still deep inside Zoro, Sanji leaned down and licked the tip of Zoro's cock again. Zoro cried out and flinched.

"Y-you can't…not both at once…!" Zoro whined.

Well if that wasn't an invitation, Sanji didn't know what was. While flexing his fingers deep inside him, Sanji pressed his tongue into Zoro's urethra. Zoro moaned, his back arching. He was panting heavily. Sanji took the time to kiss and lick his tip for a while, and in that time was able to get in all three fingers up to the knuckle. He deemed that was good enough.

Finally, he drew back. Zoro panted, trying to return to sanity. Sanji poured some more cough syrup over his dick. Zoro was right, this was sticky. He'd give Zoro a sponge bath after this, he decided. Then he lined up outside him, and slowly slid the tip inside.

Zoro watched him intently, panting with his mouth wide open. As Sanji slid deeper inside him, Zoro's eyes rolled back and his breath caught in his throat. Sanji was worried at first that he was in too much pain, but he glanced down and saw precum dripping from Zoro's cock onto his stomach. Finally, Sanji shifted a little and Zoro's voice escaped him.

"Aaahh!" he cried, his hips weakly twitching.

"Does it hurt?" Sanji asked.

"It's…ahh…so strange…"

Sanji smirked. It didn't hurt, that was good enough for now. He thrust his whole length inside Zoro. Zoro's eyes went wide, his breath caught again. So Sanji reached down and gripped Zoro's cock.

"Ahhh! No…I'll cum…don't touch it…!"

Sanji grinned. "That good, huh?"

"Y-yes…!" Zoro said, trying to hide his face in shame.

Sanji stopped jerking him off, but he kept his hand there, while he slowly thrust inside of him. "Why don't you try saying, 'more, Sanji'?"

Zoro went bright red. "Fuck off…!"

"Oh?" Then Sanji gripped Zoro's cock at the base, while increasing the pace of his thrusts. Zoro was wide-eyed and drooling, seemingly unable to make sounds. "If you don't tell me what you want, I may just not let you cum at all."

To his surprise, that was all it took. "Ahh…S-sanji…" Zoro moaned, arching his back and weakly meeting Sanji's thrusts. "I want to cum…give me more…please!"

Sanji's eyes widened. He nearly came just hearing that, having expected to tease Zoro for quite a while until he gave even an inch. He never expected that. "Fuck," Sanji murmured. Unable to stop now, he resumed jerking Zoro off while he slammed his cock deep inside him over and over. Ignoring his usual pattern of leisurely sex where he always made his partner cum first, Sanji shifted so he could go as deep as possible, utterly blown away by Zoro's sexiness.

Though Zoro was now barely concealing his panting and occasional moans, Sanji wasn't sure how close he was to cumming. Honestly, it didn't matter, he couldn't hold back anymore. If Zoro didn't cum now, he'd suck him off later. Sanji needed to cum now.

He plowed into Zoro, completely abandoning all his mature adult morality. Zoro cried out for him, saying his name over and over until Sanji's body couldn't hold out any longer. Sanji slammed into him about five more times and then an orgasm exploded over him. He pumped his twitching cock slowly inside Zoro as he spurted over and over. In the next moment, Zoro bit his lip and moaned again, streaking his own pajamas with cum.

They remained this way for a long few moments. That orgasm took Sanji a long time to recover from. He couldn't ever remember having one so intense before; he's almost passed out. Beneath him, he realized, someone else already had. He sighed heavily, then watched Zoro's sleeping face for a time. Being this sexy must be a crime, Sanji thought.

Gradually, he shifted himself out of Zoro. A slim trail of cum mixed with cough syrup dripped sexily out of him. Sanji watched with fascination, and then shook himself. The madness was over (probably). It was time to return to reality.

He sat back a short distance from Zoro, and lit up without thinking. He had to smoke after sex, it was just about the best kind. Fortunately, he remembered himself and at least got up to stand by the open window, though his knees were still weak. He observed the scene behind him. Zoro, still sick, with his pants partly down and cough syrup and cum in his ass. Sanji shuddered as his morality returned to him with a horrible pang.

What had he been thinking? Albeit, Zoro was the one who started it. But Sanji should have stopped it! It didn't matter what their feelings were, this was wrong…but then he started to think about their feelings. Zoro probably loved him. He hoped so, in spite of how wrong it was. What about Sanji? Much though it shouldn't matter, he still felt it was important that he know himself. Could he bear to deny it any longer?

No. There was no going back now. No way to pretend that the person he'd just slept with wasn't the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Sanji wanted him so terribly. Even now, when he was relatively sated. He wanted Zoro near him, he wanted to protect him, and he wanted most of all for Zoro to be happy. Zoro smiling was one of the most heartbreakingly beautiful things he'd ever seen. He wanted Zoro to be able to smile, always. That was the most important thing.

But surely…even if Zoro loved him, surely there was someone who could make Zoro happier than he could. He'd already proven himself a failure as an uncle and a protector. He had no reason to think he'd be any better as a lover. And yet he couldn't bear Zoro's sad face…breaking things off with him now would surely invoke that sad face once again. Maybe…maybe the best thing was to get Zoro to give up on his own. Much though it tore Sanji apart to admit it, he was sure what he'd said about kids his age being magpies was true. It was only a matter of time, and would probably only take a small push from Sanji for Zoro to get bored.

Sanji smoked silently by the window. For now, that was all he could do. Once he finished, he wiped Zoro clean with a warm towel and wiped off the syrup stains on the sheets. He set a clean set by the bed. He decided not to change them and risk waking Zoro up. Then he tucked Zoro in, kissed his forehead, and went home to think about what a terrible human being he was.

Underneath Zoro's open window, the person who'd earlier been kicked out had been waiting to see if Sanji might let him back in the house again. He had not moved from that spot, even as his heart was being broken. Even as tears streamed down his scary face, he stayed there. Then, when he heard Zoro's bedroom door close, he finally couldn't take it anymore, and ran all the way home.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Robin returned from her conference, and Sanji set about conniving fantastic reasons why he wouldn't have to look her in the eye. His first and, he thought, most brilliant idea was to take up wearing sunglasses indoors, like pretentious people did. It was partly so genius an idea because he was already one flourish away from being a French chef, and no one was going to call him on it. Except Bellamy, who was still trying to establish his theory that Sanji was moonlighting in an S+M club.

Next, he started bringing dinner with him to school so he wouldn't have to stay and cook for Robin and Zoro when he dropped Zoro off. Oh, and obviously, he hadn't touched him since then. Zoro was too inexperienced, and Sanji was wrestling his massive guilt-monster, something he was actually quite content to be doing. However…

"I haven't seen Kidd the last few days," Zoro said, as they walked home. "Have you?"

Sanji shook his head. "No…I wonder if his conscience finally got the better of him."

"Don't say it like that."

Sanji snorted. "Right. I forgot. We're befriending the psychopath."

Zoro sighed. "Whatever. Can I come over to your place today?"

Sanji's body went stiff. He scrambled to think of a good reason why not. "No, no. I…have diarrhea." He cringed even as he said it. Sanji hated talking about bowel movements. Why did he say that? Why that lie in particular? It wasn't even very believable, since he'd shown no signs up until then.

He noticed Zoro was staring at him with narrowed eyes. "I see," Zoro said. "I would have assumed you just had too much work to do, but sure, if you say so. Diarrhea."

Sanji slapped himself internally. Of course! Too much work to do! Why hadn't that occurred to him?!

Zoro sighed. "Look. I just want to talk. We don't have to go to your place if you don't want to, but I'd rather not be overheard. Especially by Robin."

Sanji swallowed. Should he be taken in by this? "Okay…" he murmured. "In that case, what about the park around the corner? It's always deserted."

Zoro nodded. "Thanks. It won't take long."

They sat down at an open wood table, Sanji folding his arms and trying to find other places to look than at Zoro. Zoro watched him for a moment. Eventually, he sighed. "You can stop looking so guilty."

Sanji glanced at him, panicked. "What? I'm not."

Zoro rubbed his temple. "Enough, Sanji. I know you. I know you must be torturing yourself over what happened, so I wanted to tell you that it was my fault. You have nothing to feel guilty over since you were just doing what I wanted. Also…"

Sanji sighed heavily, shaking his head. "Stop it, Zoro. It doesn't matter who started it, as the adult I should have known better. It's my responsibility. It was my mistake."

It looked like Zoro had been about to say something, until Sanji finished his sentence. Then a flicker of emotion passed over his gruff face. But it vanished almost as soon as it appeared. "I see. So you do think of it that way," he murmured, almost inaudibly. "Never mind, I knew that. Okay. Then, the only other thing I wanted to say was…thank you."

Sanji blinked. "What?"

Zoro looked normal and composed, until Sanji noticed his hands, clasped on top of the table, which had begun to tremble. "You must have figured out my feelings a while back. Not really rocket silence considering my behavior. And I know accepting them would be impossible for you. I know the other night pushed you past boundaries you had in your mind about our relationship. I'm sure that must have been hard for you to deal with afterward. All I wanted to say was, thank you for indulging me this once."

The more Zoro spoke, the more Sanji's heart felt squeezed inside his chest. Why was Zoro saying these things? Did he really believe that? Did he really not know?

"I had already been trying to forget." What? "But now I won't have any regrets. I'm very grateful. That's why there's no sense in you feeling guilty. All you have to do is forget it ever happened. And if I can have the memory, then I won't…I won't…need to wonder." Zoro cast his gaze down for a time. Eventually, he looked up. "Are you getting this, Sanji?"

Sanji was unable to speak for a few moments. Finally, what he said was, "Did your father ever hug you?"

Zoro balked. "What?"

"How did you grow up so mature and yet so blind to other people's love for you? How must he have raised you? Did he ever kiss you on the forehead and tell you he loved you?"

Zoro's cheeks had turned slightly pink. "I don't see how that's important. Enough, just tell me you're going to stop feeling guilty about all of this."

Sanji looked down at his hands on the table. He stared for a long time, knowing that he was about to make a huge mistake. His eyes crossed to Zoro's hands. They had stopped shaking, but were clenched tightly in uneasiness. He sighed heavily. "I have a feeling this guilt isn't going to go away in a hurry."

"You moron, I just said-"

Sanji stood up and closed the distance between them, causing Zoro to stop talking. He lifted Zoro's chin with one hand and placed a sweet kiss on his lips. Zoro started trembling again. Slowly, Sanji sat back down. Zoro was clearly speechless in front of him, his mouth hanging open as he stared at Sanji.

Sanji sighed and crumpled to the table, hiding his face with his forearm. "I'm a very bad man."

He stayed this way for a moment, and then glanced up as he heard Zoro rummaging in his bag. Zoro produced his phone. He dialed quickly and waited for the other person to pick up. "Robin? Yeah, I'm staying with Sanji tonight. I'll probably be back tomorrow after school. You too. Bye."

Zoro hung up. He faced Sanji's crumpled form for a moment, breathing somewhat quickly. Then he stood up, grabbed his bag, and then with his other hand, took Sanji's elbow and dragged him home. Sanji merely blushed heavily and straightened his sun glasses in an attempt to hide his raging emotions.

…

Two days earlier, Kidd was finding a new way to ease his sorrows.

WHAM.

Kidd's body slipped down the wall to the floor, after the intense right hook to his jaw. His head was spinning, and though he struggled to stand, he did not remain so for long.

"Had enough yet, Higashi?" crowed one of the lower-level Minami High cronies. It had taken ten of them to get him in this state.

He kicked Kidd in the stomach and caused him to drop to his knees, hunched over the blow. That one hit his solar plexus, and his mind was momentarily blinded by pain. He blinked, trying to catch his breath, and letting blood and spit drip from his open mouth to the floor. Still, this was better. Better than wallowing. Better than wanting with no hope of receiving. As long as he didn't actually die, no harm done.

"Hey. What are you guys doing?" came a familiar lilting, sardonic voice.

Kidd groaned. He should have known this guy would turn up.

A dark-eyed guy with a bucket hat and a mischievous grin sauntered over, his preferred weapon of a pipe slung over his shoulder. He glanced between the other Minami cronies. "Well?" he inquired, smirking.

One of them, a light-haired guy who gave a strange impression of a polar bear, said, "But, boss, he started it. He came right in our turf and started pushing us around. We can't let that slide, boss."

The dark-eyed guy glanced down at Kidd, while Kidd glared back up at him. The man smiled. "That was a good judgment, Bepo. Why don't you leave him to me now? We're good buddies after all. Aren't we, Eustass-ya?"

Kidd glared at him. "Trafalgar Law. Get lost. I don't need your pity."

Law chuckled. "I'm not pitying anybody. I was just looking for someone to go drinking with. How about it?"

Kidd granted him a vile smirk. "Go to hell." However, it was at that point, as he tried to stand up, that all the strength drained from his body and he collapsed to the floor. He groaned for a moment, then managed to push himself over to he was lying on his back at least. He panted there. "Fuck."

Law smirked and crouched beside him. "A drink?"

Kidd sighed. "Yeah, all right."

Law helped him to his feet and took him to the nurse's office first. Minami was a bit more lax than Higashi, plus (for what reason Kidd could not imagine) Law was a model student. He had perfect grades and his teachers adored him. Most of them tried to overlook the fact that he was the school's gang leader.

Trafalgar Law was the gentleman thug of their generation. Quiet, humble, and of a relatively narrow frame, the only thing that betrayed his violent personality was the threatening expression in his dark eyes. Kidd had been in scraps with him more times than he could count, during battles between Higashi and Minami. He'd always been intrigued by Law, but since Law never beat him, it never turned to admiration.

At any rate, he managed to charm the nurse into treating Kidd, though it was obvious he was from a different school. Afterward, Law told Kidd he would take him to a bar he knew, where they didn't card.

However, even Kidd grew a little nervous at that. "Come on…we're both wearing our uniforms. Even for a place that doesn't card, that's…"

Law winked at him. "You'll understand when we get there."

Without Kidd being much aware, they found themselves in an area of downtown that he had heard about, but never visited. "Wh-…" he murmured, looking around at all the brightly colored signs and ostentatious fashions.

"I've heard you don't mind men, Eustass-ya. Is that true?"

"Fuck you. That's none of your business."

Law considered. "Normally, I guess, but at the moment I'm just making sure, so you won't make a scene in front of my friends."

"Your friends?" Kidd murmured in confusion.

They turned down a back alley, where there was only one colored sign, which said, "Barairo Whiskey".

Kidd made a face. "'Rose-colored whiskey'? What is that supposed to mean?"

Law looked surprised. "You mean you don't know what 'bara' means, in our world?"

"Again, 'our world', what are you talking about?"

They walked down the stairs beside the sign to the underground entrance, and up to a very plain-looking door. Law smirked at Kidd, then knocked three times. There was a short wait, and then a panel opened at eye-level, revealing the face of what was unmistakably a drag queen.

She squealed. "Law, honey, where have you been? Everyone has been missing you."

"Sorry, Mama. Mostly school work. But this is my friend, Eustass. He's a bit new to the scene. Think you could take care of him?"

The drag queen looked Kidd over and then squealed again. "Oh, that's an easy 'yes'. Come in, come in!"

She shut the panel and opened the door, allowing them to step inside a dimly-lit bar, still sparsely populated as it was not even fully dark outside yet. The drag queen immediately gave Law a bone-crushing hug, which he bore with good grace. Then she turned to Kidd and clasped his face in her hands to examine him.

"He looks a bit violent. Oh, I do love that wild type! You'll be popular here, sweetheart, I can already tell. Come on in, my darlings! Have a seat at the bar and I'll get you something to drink."

Kidd was frozen with confusion and panic. Law merely chuckled and guided him to a seat at the bar, then sat down beside him. "I wasn't wrong. This really is your first time," he murmured, clearly amused.

Kidd gritted his teeth, trying to make sense of this. "Is this…a gay bar or something?"

Suddenly the Mama appeared before him with a disapproving expression. "Not 'or something'. And mind your manners, this is the only one in town. But you're so cute, I'd probably forgive you anything, haha! What'll it be, sweetie?"

Kidd swallowed, still a bit frazzled. But he murmured, "Scotch. On the rocks."

Mama squealed. "How manly! Law, honey?"

"A gin and tonic, if you could," Law said, smiling.

"Coming right up, my dear." She moved away to prepare the drinks.

Kidd sighed, getting his bearings. "You come here a lot?" he asked, still surprised to discover this side of Law.

"Sure," Law said, smirking. "Where else am I going to meet hot one-night stands?"

Kidd suddenly flushed up to his ears. "I can't believe you just said that. We beat the shit out of each other all the time. This is really weird. Why me?"

Law shrugged. "I was curious. Truth is, if you hadn't come to my doorstep, I was thinking about paying you a visit anyway."

"Why?"

Law gave an ironic expression. "Word gets around. A bit of gossip about you and Nishi High's Roronoa Zoro."

Kidd flinched, something Law did not fail to notice.

Law observed him for a moment. "Anyway it perked my interest. I'd heard rumors about you fucking guys as punishment before, but that's not so unusual. Straight guys can do that. But I gather with Roronoa, things were different."

Kidd's fist grew so tight that his nails bit into the palm of his hand unconsciously. "That's the last thing I want to talk about."

Law considered for a moment, gleaning quite a bit about the situation from Kidd's reactions, then he smirked again. "Okay, then. New topic. What's your type?"

Kidd flushed deeply. But at that moment, Mama returned with their drinks.

"Just let me know if you need anything else, my dears," she said, whimsically, and then dashed off to see after some other customers.

"Type?" Kidd murmured, flustered. "What do you mean?"

Law shrugged. "You like them built like a tank, like Roronoa? Or are you more about the face?"

Kidd couldn't stop blushing. "Why are you asking me this?"

Law took a sip of his drink, then leaned in closer until he was in Kidd's personal space. "Mostly, because you never gave me the time of day."

Kidd glanced at him in surprise.

At once, Law laughed and drew back. "I'm only joking. Relax, I've never looked at your ass before. Try your drink, that's why we're here."

Kidd hesitantly sipped, and found the warm burning down his throat extremely therapeutic. "Maybe this was a good idea," he murmured.

"Of course it was. It was mine." Law chuckled again, though Kidd gathered he was perfectly serious that time. "So. You still haven't answered my question."

"Type…I don't know. I…guess…" Kidd started blushing again. "I like…strong guys." His blush was now covering his ears. He hunched down and focused on his drink from embarrassment. "Ahh, this is stupid."

Law thought about this for a time. "Hm. So it was from that time Roronoa picked a fight with your gang, last year." He swished his glass for a moment. "You sure you're not a masochist?"

Kidd growled. "As if. I like giving pain, not receiving it. But…well…" He hid his face again with a blush. "If I can tell a guy is stronger than me…I like that. I guess. Jeez, why am I talking about this?"

"Hm," Law murmured. "Well, since you and I are about even, I guess that counts me out after all." Kidd gave him another surprised glance. "All right, then. It's a bit early, but, see anybody you like? I'll make an introduction for you."

Kidd blinked. Hesitantly he glanced around. Then he murmured, "That's really why you brought me here?"

"That, and to share a drink. I think you and I don't hang out as much as we should. Don't you? Eustass-ya." He grinned.

Kidd sighed. "Fair enough. I guess I could use some distraction."

Law smirked. "Good. So?"

Kidd took a drink, then glanced around. Surprisingly, he actually saw a couple of people he knew. A creepy guy from his school, all into tarot cards and palm reading, called Hawkins. Then an amateur DJ called Apoo. He would really never have guessed they frequented places like this. Nevertheless…

"Well," Kidd said, distastefully. "If we're talking who's the closest to being my type, that'd be you."

Some of Law's earlier levity faded. He looked at Kidd quite seriously. "Really?"

Kidd blushed a bit and met his gaze. "What? Was all that blatant flirting earlier just an act?"

To Kidd's surprise, he thought he saw Law's cheeks gain a little color. Then the other man laughed, and took a sip of his drink. "My, my. You are full of surprises. Well, should we drink a bit more, or…go straight to a hotel?" he said with a smirk.

Kidd blushed again, but he said, "Hotel. I'm not as rich as you. One drink is plenty." So saying, he downed the last of his whiskey.

Law looked a bit stunned for a moment. Without finishing his drink, Law slapped some money on the table and rose. He took Kidd with him and dragged him out of the bar, much though several men complained that Law was leaving too early. In moments, they reached the love hotel district, and Law headed right for a particular one, which was small and out of the way. Kidd guessed that it was one he already knew of that would not take exception to two boys in high school uniforms.

"Take it easy," Kidd muttered, as they entered. "You act like you've never had sex before."

Law laughed, pressing several buttons on the panel in the lobby, and it was obvious that despite his behavior, this was hardly his first time in a love hotel. A desk clerk discreetly dropped the key in the slot and Law snatched it up. They took the elevator to the third floor, and went up to see the flashing red light above their door. Law opened the door and then he shoved Kidd inside.

"Hey…" Kidd protested.

Then all at once, Law pinned him against the back of the door as he closed it behind them. He looked deeply into Kidd's eyes, not looking nearly so amused as he had before.

"You going to chicken out?"

Much though Kidd was nervous, he had no such intention. He smirked. "I have a feeling that would be a shame. You?"

Law laughed. "Not likely. You a top or a bottom?"

Kidd shrugged. "I can do either."

"Me too. Well, for now…how about you top?"

Kidd smirked. "You're asking for it."

Law grinned back at him, but suddenly Kidd flipped him around and slammed him against the door in his place. Kidd pulled no punches. Law grimaced a little with pain, but his smile returned. "I may regret this."

"Too late now."

Kidd gripped Law's face in his hand. Despite his defiant smirk, Law didn't fight him. Kidd examined his face, noticing that, despite his rather tired-looking eyes, Law was really attractive. Kidd wasn't really sure whether he had a type or not, but whatever it was, it certainly didn't rule Law out.

But his lower half was starting to take control of his actions, and he couldn't hold back anymore. He slammed his lips against Law's in a brutal kiss, which despite its violence, was returned just as passionately. One of Law's hands was pinned against the door by Kidd, but with the other he wove his fingers in Kidd's hair, tugging at him slightly painfully to get him to change angle or direction. Kidd snaked his free hand down to grasp Law's ass, provoking a subtle inhalation of breath from the other man.

Their hips met, and Kidd could feel Law's cock against his own, even through their clothing. This was hot. Much hotter than he anticipated. He also had a feeling that he could never be this violent with Roronoa. Not without Roronoa actually killing him.

Law briefly pushed Kidd back. "Wait," he said, then he disappeared into the main part of the room, there were some clinking sounds, and he appeared again with lube and condoms, which he had evidently obtained from the vending machine in the room. He smirked at Kidd and stepped backward toward the bed.

Kidd followed him, shoved him back onto it and resumed his brutal kissing. "Hah," he panted. "I've never kissed someone so much."

"What?" Law demanded, though hardly allowing Kidd's mouth to leave his own. "I don't believe you. You're even more green than you seem."

"Fuck you," Kidd replied, and then promptly bit down on Law's neck.

"Ah!" Law cried, his hips shifting absently against Kidd's. He was clearly turned on, and showing a side of himself that Kidd never would have guessed was there. He was hardly smiling at all, and his normally sarcastic gaze was now intense and serious. And the heat of his writhing body was doing all kinds of things to Kidd's cock.

They barely managed to undress each other, then Law turned the tables again, flipping Kidd onto his back. He bit down hard on Kidd's chest and sucked. Kidd gritted his teeth with momentary pain, before Law drew back with his tongue hanging out, admiring the dark hickey he'd made.

"You bastard," Kidd grunted, and he grabbed Law's face in his hands again. He slammed their lips together, indulging in desperate kisses that they were both craving.

Then Law shoved him back again, and moved down Kidd's body to stroke his cock. Kidd swallowed unconsciously. He was a big fan of blow jobs (not that anyone really hated them). Law flashed him a mischievous smirk, then swallowed his cock.

"Ugh," Kidd grunted, holding back a moan. His head briefly dropped back in pleasure, but he forced himself to keep watching. Law was incredibly sexy. "Where…do you get off?" Kidd demanded in a strained voice. "You're…a fucking gang leader…why are you so good at sucking cock?"

Law laughed, then flicked his gaze up to Kidd's again. "Do you want to know?"

Kidd groaned. "No. Forget it."

"Anywhere you're especially sensitive?" Law asked, then lightly licked the frenulum.

Kidd shivered. "Uh…there…but!" he cried, before Law could launch an attack. He mumbled, "Don't, I'll cum…"

"Such a cutie," Law observed, smirking again. "If you're that close, we'd better switch, huh? Hang on, can you suck cock?"

Kidd considered. "I don't know."

Law sighed. "Well, okay. I guess teaching is sort of fun too. Switch places."

Law moved up to Kidd's level to lay on his back, and Kidd scooted down toward Law's hard cock. As Kidd watched it, and as his breath lightly touched Law's inner thigh, he saw it twitch before his eyes. He found himself staring quite intently at it. As he implied to Zoro that first time, he didn't normally pay much attention to the front half of a guy. Yet now he was almost mesmerized.

He glanced up to find Law smirking at him. "What's up?"

Kidd shrugged. "Never really looked at another guy's junk before."

"Haha, we really are starting from scratch then. Okay, go ahead. I'll coach you."

Kidd hesitantly returned his gaze to Law's cock. He began by lightly stroking it. He was really unsure of himself, but he brought the tip up to his mouth. He licked it experimentally. It tasted gross, but that wasn't surprising. However, as he unintentionally brought up a mental image of Roronoa sucking his cock, he started to get really turned on. He wrapped his lips around it, and swallowed Law's cock.

He heard a soft gasp, and blushed a bit. Law muttered, "Remember to watch those teeth."

"Mm," Kidd grunted, but the vibrations from his voice caused Law to twitch. Kidd blushed again, looking up at him lustfully.

Kidd took him in more deeply, not bothering with any fancy techniques, simply bobbing his head up and down, eventually allowing the tip of Law's cock to hit the back of his throat. But Law didn't seem to be complaining. His fingers absently wove in Kidd's hair, and it was clear he wasn't thinking about much, other than the inside of Kidd's mouth.

Kidd began unconsciously swallowing saliva and precum from Law's cock, though this action in itself caused Law's hips to shake. Kidd noticed this, and started moving his tongue inside his mouth as he moved.

"Nnh," came a light grunt from Law.

His heart pounding, Kidd dove even deeper, only just avoiding his gag reflex. Somehow, this was so hot. He was going to continue, but at that point a gasping Law pushed him back.

"E-enough," he muttered. "You've got it, that's fine. You need to go lower now."

Kidd blinked. "Oh. Right."

"Start with the lube," Law said, blushing uncharacteristically.

"Yeah, I'm good on this part," Kidd muttered, pouring some lube into the fingers of his left hand.

Law snorted. "Oh really? Well forgive me if I…uh…" He trailed off as Kidd began massaging his hole with the lube. He remained quietly watching for a moment, then Kidd noticed his cock twitch again. "I mean, your experience…is…" Law continued, absently.

"Just tell me if it hurts, okay?" Kidd said.

With that, he gently inserted the first finger. Law shuddered, and his breathing grew heavier. But Kidd moved slowly, since this time his partner wasn't drugged. On the other hand, he was more than willing, so his hole wasn't too tight either. Kidd concentrated there, getting him used to one finger.

At the same time, he flexed it inside, searching for something. "Hmm," Kidd muttered to himself. "Most guys…it's about…here?"

"Ah!" Law's head fell back against the pillows. He breathed heavily to calm himself down, then looked down at Kidd again.

Kidd was smirking. "Got it. Good."

Before Law could make any commentary, Kidd slowly inserted a second finger. Law grunted and panted a bit. Kidd surmised that the second one had hurt a bit. But he had an idea about that. There was no drug this time, so instead…

"Ahh!" Law cried, as Kidd's tongue ran up his cock. "That's…you don't need to…it's…ahh…"

Kidd ignored Law, and continued lapping contentedly at his cock, though most of his attention was on the fingers of his left hand. He flicked the tip with his tongue, and at the same time, pressed Law's prostate with both fingers.

"Mmf!" Law cried, biting his lip to stem the moan. "Don't…worry so much. Hurry up…"

Kidd lifted his tongue briefly to say, "Fuck that. I'm having fun."

Law groaned and covered his eyes with his forearm. He was obviously embarrassed. Either he wasn't used to partners so conscientious, or he was just embarrassed to be losing himself to pleasure in front of Kidd. Either way, Kidd was having a great time.

Finally, he inserted a third finger, this time going especially slowly. However, it was obvious that his concern was unnecessary, just from looking at Law's hard, pink cock. Precum leaked from the tip onto his pale stomach. Law himself was quietly biting his lip, his eyes still covered by his arm. Kidd took the opportunity, while still flexing his fingers inside him, to observe the man who had come on to him so suddenly.

Law was narrowly built, with pale skin and dark hair. As Kidd mentioned, his face was nothing to sniff at, and Kidd didn't even mind his sarcastic personality. Plus, the face he was making right now was beyond adorable. Why had Kidd never noticed him before?

With his free hand, he poured some more lube over his dick. He gave Law's cock one more deep lick, then slowly replaced his fingers with his cock.

"Ah…" Law sighed, trying not to tense up.

"Mm," Kidd murmured, sliding in slowly. "You're pretty tight. You doing okay?"

When he glanced at him, Law had the heel of one hand pressed to his forehead, and his expression was one of pain.

"Hey…" Kidd murmured, softly. "If it hurts too much, I'll stop."

Law shook his head with an unconvincing laugh. "No," he said. "Sorry, it's not that. It's silly, I just never thought I'd do this with you." He laughed again, rubbing his forehead to hide his face.

Kidd blushed heavily, his heart leaping into his throat. Law's behavior was starting to make sense. Kidd couldn't be sure, but he didn't want to jinx it. Rather than asking him to confirm what he suspected, Kidd leaned down over him, moved his hand aside and kissed him on the cheek.

Law's face lit up bright red. Kidd smiled; he hadn't expected that. Then he claimed Law's lips in another kiss. Law moaned lightly against his lips, encouraging him further. He indulged in this kissing for a few moments, then thrust his hips forward.

"Ah!" Law cried, unconsciously grabbing on to Kidd's upper arms.

Kidd smirked at him. "I'm not normally this nice, you know. Consider yourself lucky."

"Yeah?" Though his eyes glistened a little, Law grinned back at him. "What warranted this unusual niceness?"

"This time? You paid for my drink."

Law laughed, and then ran his hands down Kidd's back to come to rest on his hips. "Whenever you're ready to give up the nice act, I'm waiting."

"Bastard," Kidd muttered, though he was smirking.

Kidd kissed Law once more, then began to slowly thrust inside him. Law's initial discomfort lasted only a few moments. Kidd knew that because when he happened to shift his hips to a lower angle, Law's back arched and a short cry came from him. Kidd took that as a go-ahead sign, and let go of his "nice act" as Law called it.

He gripped Law's ass with both hands, lifting it a few inches off the bed, and pounded roughly into him. Law cried out, one hand gripping the pillow behind his head, the other digging into Kidd's shoulder. The slight pain of Law's nails in his skin only increased his pleasure and enthusiasm, and next he sat on his ankles and yanked Law's hips up onto his lap.

Law moaned loudly, gripping on to Kidd's knees, unaware that his hips were thrusting lasciviously up to meet Kidd's. Kidd panted for a moment, then he picked Law up and turned him over so he was on all-fours.

"W-wait…" Law pleaded, looking back at him with baleful eyes. "This position…I can't…I can't hold out for long…"

Kidd grinned. "Meaning you cum too fast?"

Law blushed and turned away, but he nodded.

Kidd heedlessly kneaded Law's ass for a moment, making him pant, and then lined his hips up against Law's. "Cum then. I'm sure I'll make you cum again soon enough."

Instead of thrusting back inside him, Kidd observed Law's pert, sexy ass for a time. He caressed it briefly, then he had a really hot idea. He rested his cock between the cheeks of Law's ass. Then he pushed them together and began to rub against him.

Law whimpered a little, causing Kidd's heart to race. Then his false bravado returned, and he produced a chuckle. "Perv," he accused.

"Yes, but you're hardly one to talk," Kidd replied, and reached around to lightly tap Law's rock-hard cock.

Law shivered in obvious pleasure. He panted a moment to regain his breath. "All right…enough, just…let me cum…"

"Ahh, music to my ears," Kidd said, grinning. Obediently, he slid back inside the other man.

Law moaned, arching his back again. "Oh fuck…" he panted. Before Kidd realized, Law's hips were thrusting back against his enthusiastically.

Kidd grunted a bit, already trying to stave off cumming. Law was so sexy. It made Kidd jealous of all the men who had come before him. He didn't want anyone else to have this man. He thrust into him more deeply, as if trying to make Law his own. Unbeknownst to him, he needn't have tried very hard.

Kidd's cock again began to strike Law's prostate, causing him to moan loudly and collapse onto his elbows. But Kidd would not relent, and soon Law was fighting to stay upright at all, in addition to fighting his body's urge to cum. But then something happened that made that impossible.

"Ahh…Law…" Kidd moaned. "I want to see you cum…cum for me…"

Law bit back a cry, but a wave of heat passed over his body, and he lost touch with reality for a few seconds as his orgasm swept over him. His cum splattered onto the bed beneath him. Kidd obviously noticed, because he stopped fucking him. Law twitched for a few moments, slowly coming down from that unexpected high. He slumped against the bed, panting.

"Shit," Kidd muttered.

After seeing Law's face as he came, he could wait no longer. He resumed pounding into him until he dug his fingers into Law's hips as he came hard inside him. Both men cried out at the sensation. Kidd was almost disbelieving. He'd never had sex like that before. Slowly, he pulled out. Then he sighed, and joined Law lying on the bed.

"Jesus," Kidd muttered, staring at the ceiling.

Law's eyes flicked up at him. He chuckled. "Yeah. I was going to say, 'how do you like real sex with a man', but the truth is, what happened just now was a first for me too."

Kidd snorted. "Well, great mature, experienced man you may be, but we are both still in high school. I'm sure it's not that unusual."

"Yeah, maybe," Law replied, smirking. He was silent for a time, but eventually said, "So it was good?"

"Fuck," Kidd answered. Law smiled. "I may never need to have sex again after this."

"What?" Law asked with a sudden look of panic.

"I'm joking."

"Oh. So…you do want to have sex again?"

Kidd considered. "Well. That depends. Are you going to tell me that you like me?"

Law blinked in obvious shock, but he covered it with a nonchalant smirk. "Why would I do that?"

"Oh, I see. So you don't want to have sex again. Well, I'll split the hotel bill with you, I guess-"

"Ah!" Law cried, half rising. Kidd watched him for a time, smirking. Law blushed and looked away, though in a moment he gave a shy smile. "Maybe I do."

"Then maybe you should give me your phone number."

Law chuckled. "Maybe I should."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

They entered Sanji's apartment. Zoro stood against the wall of the genkan, and Sanji watched him intently as he closed the door. They remained this way for many long seconds. Slowly, Sanji reached a hand up to Zoro's cheek. Zoro's eyes closed and a slight flush came to his cheeks. Gently, he leaned his head into Sanji's hand.

Sanji immediately gathered Zoro up in his arms and kissed him until they were both out of breath. Zoro wrapped his arms around Sanji's neck as Sanji held him tightly around the waist. Then Sanji lifted Zoro up and carried him to the bedroom, still kissing him.

"Ah," Zoro panted, as Sanji set him down on the bed. "How can you lift me? I wondered that before…"

"Pure force of will," Sanji replied, bringing their lips back together in annoyance.

"Mm…hey…" Zoro managed. "Can I top this time?"

That stopped Sanji in his tracks. He stared down at Zoro on the bed with a very funny expression that almost caused Zoro to laugh. "Uhh…well…"

Zoro smirked. He placed a kiss on Sanji's cheek. "Give me a shot."

Sanji was still frozen stiff, trying to think of a very good reason why this would not work. However, while he was thinking, Zoro's large, rough hands squeezed his ass. "Ah!" he cried in surprise. Zoro kissed his neck and nibbled lightly there, further lowering Sanji's defenses. Then he took one of Sanji's ears into his mouth.

"Ahh…" Sanji sighed pleasantly. "Hey, now…you're awfully confident, considering it's only your second time ever."

"Second time in real life," Zoro corrected, running his hands up Sanji's back as he deftly caressed the inside of Sanji's ear with his tongue. "But I've done this to you in my head a thousand times already."

Sanji blushed, shuddering with the touch of Zoro's tongue. His head was suddenly filled with images of what Zoro had been imagining, and what he had been doing to himself in the meantime. "Oh…all right," he allowed, though his heart was pounding in his ears. "But if you suck at it I'm just going to do you anyway."

"Fair enough," Zoro said, smirking.

He deeply kissed Sanji's neck, then flipped him over onto his back. He watched him affectionately for a moment. He unbuttoned his jacket and shirt, but only removed his jacket. At the same time he caressed Sanji's chest, lifting his turtleneck so that his nipples were visible. He was going to tease them, when Sanji's fingers lightly touched his chest, making him pause.

Sanji gently parted Zoro's open shirt to reveal his muscular chest. More importantly, the huge scar, still pink and shiny, that ran right across his chest. From the time he lost his father.

"What?" Zoro murmured, as Sanji's fingers briefly traced the scar.

The light faded from Sanji's eyes. "This is from the accident, right?"

Zoro frowned. "Yeah."

Sanji's chest started to ache. He lowered his gaze.

Since he wasn't watching, he didn't notice the hurt and confusion flicker over Zoro's face. Zoro let out a small sigh. Then, without a word, he turned away and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Zoro?" Sanji asked with concern.

"You know…" Zoro muttered, so softly Sanji could barely hear him. "It's…starting to feel really heavy. The feeling I get in my chest whenever you change your mind." Sanji's eyes flew open; though he'd been in torment himself, he never thought what effect that might be having on Zoro.

"Because, I'm a pessimist," Zoro continued, still facing away from him. "I like to prepare for the worst. That's why I didn't say anything after that time you were drugged. I didn't ask you for help when I was sick. And I didn't expect anything after what happened that day. You pleasantly surprised me after all those times, only to leave me confused later. I honestly can't tell from your actions whether you want me or not. I don't like not knowing."

Finally, he turned to Sanji, though still sitting casually in spite of the topic. "So I'm sorry, but now I've got to ask you for something. I want to you make a decision. I'll stand by it, whatever it is, but whatever you decide, you can't waver. I'm not asking you about your feelings; you don't have to tell me that if you don't want to. Maybe you don't know. I just want to know if you want me or not. Either way, I want your conviction, to know that you won't change your mind or second-guess yourself later. That's all."

Zoro then allowed a heavy silence to pass. Sanji was looking at him with his mouth hanging open, trying desperately to figure out the right thing to say. Which was difficult, since he didn't know himself how to answer.

Zoro sighed again. He got up and put his jacket back on.

"Hey!" Sanji said, rising to stop him. "Wait, Zoro…"

Zoro shook his head. "I can see you're not ready. It's okay. Take your time." Then he met Sanji's gaze. "It's really important to me. So I want you to be sure, as much as you can be. I'll see you later."

And so, Sanji was left in cold silence as Zoro closed the door behind him. Sanji put his head in his hands. Eventually, he fell back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. It was all such nonsense. There was only one child here, and it wasn't Zoro. He rubbed his face with his hands again and let out a noise of frustration. What could he possibly do?

"Go for it," said Franky. "That's what I say. You go for it, and don't look back."

The following evening, Sanji had accepted an invitation from Brook to play mahjongg at his place. He needed to be around people, but everyone had to have an opinion about Sanji's current troubles.

"Hmm," Brook murmured, thinking hard but also looking at his tiles. "That is a difficult one. As is falling for someone who is younger and yet more mature that oneself."

"I felt a slight insult in that wording," Sanji grumbled, making a complete mess of his tiles because he had his face plastered against most of them on the table. The others continued playing around him heedlessly.

"I was worried this might happen," Chopper commented, discarding. "When we were talking about sempai's girl being mature. See, if that was the case, then of course she would realize what's going through your head right now."

"Nnf," Sanji groaned loudly, in torment.

Franky laughed. "Poor Sanji. Well? Any conclusions, so far?"

"Mmf," Sanji groaned. He rose from the table, several tiles stuck to the side of his face. "Look, who said kids these days had to be so mature, huh? In my day, we gave the law the finger and told our parents to fuck off."

"You did not," Chopper insisted.

"Well, we thought about it." He returned his head to the table in a pout.

"The question is: which way do you think you'll be the happiest?" Franky said. "If you're happy, you can work out the practical stuff as you go."

"Hm," Chopper commented. "On the other hand, if sempai really loves this girl, then shouldn't he be thinking about her best interests? Sorry, sempai, I know I said you should just be happy earlier, but now that I think about it, it can't be easy for you to be happy when you're wracked with guilt over the whole thing."

Sanji pointed at Chopper. "There we have it."

"Poor Sanji-kun," Brook murmured. "And poor Zor-" Brook stopped immediately with his eyes wide, trying pointedly not to stare at Chopper to see whether he'd caught Brook's mistake. Sanji and Franky both stared wide-eyed at him. Unfortunately, so did Chopper.

"Zoro?" Chopper murmured softly. He turned a wide-eyed stare to Sanji. "Zoro?" he asked, more insistently. "This whole time…you've been talking about Zoro?" When Sanji merely cast his gaze to the side, refusing to meet Chopper in the eye line, the normally meek infirmary sensei gritted his teeth.

Chopper slammed both hands on the table, sending tiles flying everywhere. Then he half rose from his seat to say, "Sempai, are you out of your mind?! Do you know how many types of wrong that is?! He's a child, he's a boy, he's your student, and he's your family! Apart from his mother, you're his only family!"

"Hey, Chopper…" Franky mumbled, reaching out to calm him down.

Chopper slapped his hand away. "He only just lost his father a year ago, do you realize it's entirely probable that he's only looking for a father figure?!" He paused for a moment, breathing heavily. "Tell me you haven't slept with him."

Sanji swallowed and again cast away his gaze.

Chopper went apocalyptic. "He's only just 18! That's very close to a crime, you know! You've betrayed his trust completely, and you've lost the right to call yourself a teacher! If you don't break it off, I'll be forced to tell his mother, and the school. Don't think that I'm bluffing. Is that clear, sempai?"

Sanji covered his face with his hands. "Chopper, I'm sorry…"

"What are you apologizing to me for?!" Chopper raged. "Apologize to his mother-"

"Chopper!" Franky interrupted, angrily.

"-or to his future that will forever be tainted by the fact that he was taken advantage of by his uncle!"

"Chopper-kun!" Brook whispered heatedly. "That's not fair! I agree I don't approve of Sanji-kun's decisions…"

"Then what is the discussion?!"

"But nothing he's done is actually illegal. Zoro is 18, they're both consenting adults. And even if Zoro wasn't of age, he doesn't strike me as the kind of boy to be easily mislead."

"They're not related by blood," Franky continued. "So although it's a bit weird, it's not actually incest."

"I can't believe you two!" Chopper hissed. "You're bickering over technicalities when it's obviously wrong!"

"I know," Sanji said softly, stopping the arguing. His friends looked at him, as he took a drag of his cigarette and stared darkly down at the table. "Chopper, I know. Believe me I've been struggling with this every day. I've never laid my hand on a student before, and I swear to you I never will again. I…I do think that I love Zoro. I can't change that now. But it's true what you say; in his case he may just be confusing physical attraction with a need for a male figure in his life. I can't in good conscience let this go on any longer."

He looked up at Chopper with a sober expression. "I will break it off. Thank you, Chopper, for your honesty. And…I'm sorry to have disappointed you." He started to rise. "Sorry, I think I have to head home now. Thank you all, it really helped to hear all this."

He picked up his bag and left the apartment quietly. As soon as he was gone, the other three heaved a collective sigh.

"Why do I feel like the bad guy?" Chopper muttered, with a tortured expression.

Franky patted him on the shoulder. "You're not. I think he needed to hear that, even if it hurt."

"I agree," Brook said. "Perhaps Franky-kun and I were a bit too jaded to say anything. But if he can break it off, I'm sure it will be better for both of them."

Chopper sighed again and laid his head in his hand.

The next day, school passed uneventfully for Sanji. He tried not to look at Zoro, and to his relief, the gesture was returned. Then, he did something cowardly, and told another student to give a message to Zoro that he had a lot of work and couldn't walk him home today. After school, from the window in the staff room, Sanji was able to see Zoro leave, flanked by Luffy and Usopp. He hoped that they would go to ramen or something and have fun. And also that Zoro would call his mother and tell her if he'd be late. He turned his gaze down and folded his hands.

He did whatever work he could think of, and by the time he was ready to leave, it had started to rain. He sighed. He'd forgotten his umbrella. But it was fine. Somehow the rain seemed suitable for what he was going to do. He headed out, walking quickly in discomfort but not bothering to run. His pace got slower as he approached Zoro's street. Finally, a block away, he stopped completely.

He let the rain run over him, vainly hoping that somehow it would numb the pain he was feeling, for what he was about to do. Eventually, he forced himself to step forward, and continue walking until he reached the door. He stopped again. Now he really had trouble making himself continue. He didn't want to lose Zoro. Selfishly, he hoped that Zoro would refuse to accept what he was going to say. He didn't mind being the receiver. He just wanted Zoro in his arms.

Before he could snap himself out of his malaise, the door opened. It was Zoro. He smirked a little, leaning on the door frame. "I saw you come up to the door about ten minutes ago. What have you been doing, out in the rain like that? You look like shit."

"Thanks," Sanji said, bitterly.

Zoro folded his arms and waited, knowing that Sanji was working himself up to talk.

Sanji sighed, once again disappointed with himself for being less mature than Zoro. "Zoro…" he murmured. "I have something to say."

It was very subtle, but he thought he saw pain flicker over Zoro's face. Zoro nodded. "I thought you might."

"I…"

It was at that point that Robin appeared in the doorway. "Sanji," she said, smiling serenely as she always did. "Come inside."

Sanji's heart leapt into his chest. "No…no, I really just have something to say to Zoro, and then I need to go…"

She smiled. "Say it to him inside, then. You're going to catch pneumonia."

"No, really…"

"Sanji," Zoro stopped him. "You really should come inside. Robin knows."

Sanji's jaw dropped. "Wh-…" he murmured, helplessly.

"It's true. So please come inside, Sanji. We need to talk."

Sanji's whole world seemed to come crashing down on him. The last person in the world he wanted to know now knew of his sin. Even as he reluctantly came inside, he felt blood rush to his face and ears, so he could hardly hear anything. Zoro and Robin were talking to each other as he came in, but he didn't catch any of it. Someone guided him into the living room, where he stood awkwardly. Zoro sat down opposite him and said nothing.

Finally, Robin came to stand in front of him. She was still smiling, but Sanji knew enough not to trust that. Robin had many kinds of smiles, and the one he saw now was not one of the friendly ones.

"Sanji," Robin said, at length.

"Yes…"

"I'm sorry. I need to get something off my chest, and then we can talk."

Dread crept up Sanji's spine. Meekly, he nodded, fearing the worst. "All right."

SLAP.

Sanji reeled, nearly losing his footing from the force of the blow to his cheek. He cringed, knowing he deserved that and more. He expected more blows to rain down on him, but when they didn't, he glanced up.

Robin's expression had relaxed somewhat. "I'm sorry for losing my temper," she said, calmly. "But I had to do that or I wouldn't be able to move on. So, sit down. We have a lot to talk about." Zoro had watched all this open-mouthed, obviously stunned that his gentle step-mother would ever strike anyone.

Sanji hesitantly took a seat on the couch, still unsure, and unwilling to let himself relax just yet. The fact that Robin looked more relaxed did not mean that she wasn't angry. She was also good at covering it up when she was. Still, she sat down as well, so all three were now looking at one another.

"Zoro has told me most of what has been happening between you two," Robin said in a careful tone. "And I can't say I wasn't surprised."

"Nee-chan," Sanji murmured, softly.

She held up a hand. "I have some things to say, and then you can talk." Sanji nodded meekly, and she lowered her hand. "I was surprised, first, that my brother would do such a thing to my son." Sanji cringed again, sinking into his seat. "Second, because I thought you were both straight. But I was largely surprised that Zoro said he loved you."

Sanji's gaze flicked up, and he felt himself blushing in spite of the situation. He'd known that, but he hadn't heard Zoro say it. He saw Zoro glance away in embarrassment as well.

Robin granted him a somewhat kinder smile. "Since I've known Zoro, I've always known him as a serious young man, with clear goals and an adult personality. But this is the first time I've ever seen him show any interest in romance." Sanji blinked, but acknowledged that this was true. Once he thought about it, it was pretty strange that a boy Zoro's age hadn't been interested in love so far.

Robin crossed both her hands in her lap. "To be honest, Roger had mentioned it to me before, as well." Sanji saw Zoro react with surprise at that. He knew that Robin, out of respect for Zoro, often refraining from mentioning Roger when he was around. "He was worried that growing up in a house without women made Zoro grow up too fast, missing those awkward, puppy love years. And maybe he did. But when Zoro told me these things, in spite of my immediate reaction of anger," Sanji flinched a bit, "I could see that he was serious."

She met Sanji's eyes. "Having lived the life I have, I don't put much stock in first love. But Zoro seems to be an exception to that. From what I've seen and heard, Sanji, you seem to be more serious than usual too. I would hope so, since hitting on a child, a family member and a man all in the same person seems a bit extreme, even for you."

Sanji's eyes widened. He started to feel hope bubbling up in his chest. He could hardly believe it but…was Robin approving of their relationship? If she was, that was all he needed. He would forget his guilt and just drown in happiness, making sure Zoro was held like a treasure in his arms. But he couldn't get excited yet, since it was obvious she had more to say.

"But…I'm not entirely convinced this is the right path for either of you." Sanji's hope started to fade. He lowered his gaze. He had been silly to think she would approve, he realized. "So Zoro and I were talking. And I was thinking about how I was when I was young. I decided that for the moment, I can't let you two be together."

Sanji's chest ached horribly. He closed his eyes and lowered his head.

"I told Zoro that more than anything, I want him to get into a good college and make sure he prepares for his future during this time. Entrance exams start at the end of the year, and then if all goes well, preparations for college. So. I decided that the best I can do for you is one year."

Sanji blinked. What did that mean? He glanced up at his sister. To his surprise, to her right, Zoro was lightly smiling. Why was he smiling? "A year…for what?"

"For Zoro to make his mind up," Robin answered, gracefully. "If he still wants to be with you in one year, and of course I'm assuming you'll still want to be with him, since you wouldn't have stooped so low for feelings less serious than that," A shiver ran down Sanji's spine at the seriousness with which she said this, "in one year, it'll be his decision, and I'll support him." A very light and true smile graced Robin's lips. "Support you both."

Sanji was at a loss for words. "Nee-chan…" he murmured. There were so many things he was feeling. Gratitude and extreme happiness at his sister's acceptance, and mixed feelings about being separated from Zoro for a year. But most of all, relief. All at once, he dashed over to where his sister was sitting and wrapped her in a huge hug. "Nee-chan," he murmured, tearing up. "You're an angel. How can you be so understanding?"

Robin smiled and shrugged a little. "I did grow up with a good-for-nothing little brother. That helped."

Sanji gave a self-deprecating smile. "Yes, you did," he agreed, then kissed her on the cheek.

Robin patted his arm to get him to release her, then smiled at him again. "Now, I gather you and Zoro had something else to talk about. I'll leave you to it, but I'll just be in the next room." Her smile grew dangerous. "The sound from the kitchen carries very well," she said, so softly only Sanji could hear.

Sanji unconsciously retreated, feeling coldness in his bones. As he did, Robin rose and left, granting a more peaceful smile to Zoro on her way out. Once she left, all the strength slipped out of Sanji's body and he collapsed face-down on the couch.

"I feel like I've gone through a wringer," he said, in a voice muffled by the couch cushions.

Zoro chuckled a bit. "You look it."

Sanji sat up, and gazed at his hands. "So…you're all right with all this, Zoro?"

Zoro considered. "Don't know yet."

"What do you mean?"

A touch of annoyance marked Zoro's face. He sighed and leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "I still haven't heard your answer."

"To the plan? I say it's a go. It'll be tough, but…"

Zoro's expression changed and he looked away, causing Sanji to trail off. "That's not what I meant," he murmured. "I meant what I asked you the other day. I gather you thought about it and came to tell me what you decided. So?"

Sanji blinked. "Well…isn't it obvious? We can just wait a year…"

Zoro looked a bit hurt and then shook his head. "I don't think you understand. I can wait a year. Longer, if I have to. But only if there's some chance you could be waiting for me at the end." Zoro met Sanji's eyes with cold seriousness. "I can guess what you came here to tell me." Sanji's chest ached and he avoided Zoro's gaze. "And I know how flippant you are. I imagine you're hoping that after everything, I'll give up in the middle, and you won't have to make this decision. But that's not going to work. Tell me, Sanji, please. One way or the other. Am I what you want?"

Sanji was thrown back into his complicated emotional pit again. He wasn't off the hook, he realized. Yes, some things had changed, most importantly Robin's acceptance of them, but most of the situation was still the same. Sanji might still be robbing Zoro of a normal life. Zoro was still a man, still under twenty, and still his nephew. Sanji still felt like a criminal. And yet…

"I…" he murmured. Then he decided to finally be honest with Zoro, and not try to deceive him or decide what was best for him. He took a deep breath, and started again. "I never intended to…rob you of your youth like this, and it's been eating me up inside. I feel protective of you…even if you weren't my nephew you'd still be my student. I also made a promise to myself that I'd look after you in Roger's place. But…" he chuckled a bit. "You seem to have charmed me. You rotten kid."

Zoro snorted a bit and muttered, "I think you sometimes forget there's only seven years between us."

"Yeah, shut up, I'm pouring my heart out here."

"Sorry."

"Zoro…the more I get to know you, the more I'm stunned that no one else notices how brilliant you are." He thought he saw Zoro blush at that. "Frankly, yes, I do kind of wish you were a woman with long hair and big breasts, but-"

"Jesus," Zoro muttered, covering his face.

"I said 'but'!" Sanji protested. "But…Zoro, it must be said, there's…no one else in the world I want more than you."

Sanji was lucky. In most of their interactions thus far, it had been dark or his brain had been a bit addled by sex, so this was the first time he remembered Zoro going as red as he was now. Zoro looked away, obviously in huge embarrassment. He was absently moving his jaw as if either trying to speak or chewing the inside of his cheek. At any rate, it seemed he was totally out of his element, and wouldn't be much use in the conversation for a while.

"So I'll…I'll be here," Sanji continued, starting to blush himself. "But listen, don't let that hold you back. If you meet someone, I'll underst-" Sanji gritted his teeth in the middle of that word. "I mean, it's not that I want you to, but if…I'll…damn it, I want to say it but I keep getting pissed off. No, okay, never mind that. Point is, if…when…you're ready, I'll be here. And yes, I will still want you in a year. So…"

Sanji trailed off, because as he had been speaking, Zoro had come to sit on the couch next to him. He was still blushing a bit, but he also looked as happy as Sanji had ever seen him. Not so much smiling, but almost visibly glowing somehow. He placed a hand on top of Sanji's, which was resting on his knee. Then, in about the most romantic gesture Sanji could imagine, Zoro picked up his hand, loosely wove their fingers together, and then brought the back of Sanji's hand to his lips. He held it there, with his eyes closed, for several long moments, as if he were breathing in Sanji's essence through the back of his wrist. Sanji's heart just about exploded in his chest.

However, at the lack of noise, Robin appeared in the doorway. Zoro released Sanji's hand and merely smiled contentedly at him.

"Sanji," said Robin, in a dangerous tone, though she was smiling. "There's nothing going on here, is there?"

Sanji and Zoro both shook their heads dutifully, though Sanji was still bright red and Zoro was unsuccessfully trying to hide his grin. Robin sighed a bit.

"Okay. In that case, Sanji? We haven't eaten yet. Would you like to cook for us?"

"_Bien sur, ma cherie_!" Sanji said, perking up.

And thus, Sanji, Zoro and Robin returned to their family life. Surprisingly, it was quite easy for things to return to normal. Zoro won second prize in his final kendo tournament (Luffy won first). He did well on exams and got accepted to a university only two hours or so away by train. Then he, Luffy, Usopp and Nami graduated, and Zoro moved into the dorms and started college, all in the space of a fast year. During that time, Sanji concentrated on helping students with exams, and living a pure kind of life. He'd never tried it before. Somehow, he thought it would be hard. But whenever he thought of Zoro, even during the times when he was seeing him almost every day, he would feel motivated and excited.

Finally, a day came in December, when Zoro had decided to come home for his winter break. In actuality, it had taken a little more than a year for Zoro to make the time. He was in his first year of college, after all. It had now been almost six months since they had seen one another in person. It was a Saturday, so unfortunately all Sanji was able to do for most of the day was pace and bite his nails, not knowing when or if Zoro would come to his place, or to Robin's place, or whether Sanji would be invited there…Zoro was not big on phone calls. Or texting. Or emails. It was necessary information only. And Zoro deemed very little information to be necessary.

By eleven o'clock that night, Sanji was sure Zoro wasn't coming. However, it was then that there was a knock at his door. He leapt to his feet and ran to the door. Then he stopped, composed himself, straightened his shirt and breathed out slowly. Then, calmly opened the door.

Zoro, with shaggy hair, a different fashion and a big back pack on his shoulder, and looking a bit taller in fact, grinned at Sanji as soon as he saw him. "Hey."

Sanji bit both his lips to stop a stream of emotion, and when he was ready, he opened his mouth and replied, "Hey."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Sanji could scarcely believe it. Zoro was standing at his door. Zoro himself. After six months with little communication, here he was, safe and sound, and tall and shaggy. Also a bit soaked. It took Sanji several moments to realize that Zoro had been standing in front of his door, soaking wet with a huge backpack for about a minute and a half, his amusement growing the longer Sanji was deprived of words.

"Uh…" Sanji muttered. "Oh, shit, come in," he stumbled, allowing Zoro inside. "Is it raining? Let me take that." Zoro merely smiled and allowed him to take his backpack. "How did you get here? Did it take long? You must be tired. I'll make some tea. Or do you want to take a bath? A shower? A hot shower? What about food, have you eaten?"

Zoro turned to look at him. Wordlessly, he took a seat at the kitchen counter and just smiled at Sanji for a moment.

"What?" Sanji asked, nervously. He had a brief fear that Zoro might be disappointed to see him again after six months, and find he'd imagined Sanji to be somehow more handsome or cool than he really was.

Zoro grinned. He didn't look mocking; in fact he looked really happy. "I haven't eaten," he replied.

Sanji's heart fluttered. Even his voice seemed deeper. "Oh…sure…" He hung up Zoro's backpack in the closet, then walked briskly over to the sink, rolling up his sleeves to wash his hands. "Anything you'd like in particular?"

"You."

Sanji blushed and whirled around. "What?"

Zoro smirked for a moment, and then said, "No, I changed my mind. I'd like to take a shower."

"Uh…sure…" Sanji mumbled, and continued washing his hands, assuming he was just hearing things. "I'll have something ready for you when you get out then."

"Sanji."

"Hm?"

"I want to take a shower."

"Sure, go ahead."

"Sanji."

"Yeah?"

Zoro was smiling again. Sanji turned to look at him in confusion, but at the suggestive nature in Zoro's smile, he started to put it together. He went bright red. "You want…" he murmured.

Without speaking, Zoro rose and walked around the counter to Sanji. He gently took his hand. Then he led him silently to the bathroom. Sanji's heart wouldn't stop pounding. Zoro was so handsome, it was making his head go all fuzzy, and his body feel hot. Zoro brought them into the bathroom and closed the door. Then he faced Sanji. His smile had faded a bit.

Zoro took Sanji's cheek in his hand. Unconsciously, Sanji's eyes fluttered and his cheeks reddened. "Sanji…" Zoro murmured, softly. "Is it okay that I'm here?"

Sanji blinked in surprise. "Okay? Zoro…" he started blushing again. "I've been on tenterhooks all day, wondering if you would really come here. I'm so happy I'm shaking, can't you tell?"

Zoro's expression intensified. All at once, he wrapped Sanji in his arms and buried his face in Sanji's neck. Sanji felt like crying. He returned Zoro's hug with equal fervor. "Sanji…" Zoro murmured against his skin.

Sanji shivered, his fingers tightening into Zoro's clothing. Zoro slowly lifted his head and they gazed at one another for a moment. Zoro took Sanji's cheek in his hand again, and came so close their lips were nearly touching, all the while gazing deeply into Sanji's eyes. Sanji wove his hands in Zoro's hair, and closed the last few centimeters between his and Zoro's lips.

He felt like an electric shock went through him, and felt a quick intake of breath from Zoro. All the strength in his body seemed to melt away. Zoro's arms wrapped around his waist and pulled him ever closer, ever tighter against him. Sweet kisses gradually became more passionate ones. Zoro pushed Sanji up against the bathroom door and desperately tried to make up the last year with kisses.

Sanji gasped for breath, hardly able to pull himself away from kisses so intense he couldn't think. Nevertheless, his body moved for itself as he began pulling Zoro's clothes off him. Zoro returned the favor by unbuttoning Sanji's shirt and passionately groping his chest. A sigh of pleasure ached from Sanji's lips.

They broke away for a moment to quickly undress completely, then Zoro yanked Sanji into the shower. Tepid water washed over them for a moment, then grew temperate. Zoro grabbed Sanji's face in both hands and drowned him in kisses.

Sanji was trembling and barely able to stand. At last, Zoro stopped for breath, and held Sanji against him. Despite the haziness in his mind, Sanji could feel Zoro's hardness touching his own. He blushed. Then he reached over and grabbed a bar of body wash. He ran it slowly across Zoro's chest, experimenting touching his new, even thicker muscles.

Zoro was breathing hard. "Sanji…" he murmured. Then he grabbed Sanji's wrist, causing him to let the soap fall to the floor. "I don't have the strength to go slowly now. Sorry, just bear with me for a minute, then I'll spend all night dragging pleasure out of you."

Sanji's breath halted. He didn't even have time to react, when Zoro slammed him up against the tile wall, devouring his mouth once again. But this time, his hips thrust against Sanji's, and in a moment his hand wrapped around both his own and Sanji's penises. A moan slipped from Sanji's lips into Zoro's mouth. To be honest, Sanji had been fighting the urge to do just what Zoro was doing now. He didn't want to give Zoro the impression that he was weak to pleasure or anything. Although at the moment, he was beyond caring.

Zoro's large hand moved smoothly and skillfully. He coaxed sweet moans out of Sanji. Sanji couldn't believe how turned on he was. Just thinking Zoro was touching him sent chills up his spine and heat to his crotch.

"Sanji…" Zoro was moaning. Sanji shivered at the rumbling of his deep voice against his skin. "I've wanted to do this for so long…"

Sanji could hardly speak. Eventually, he managed, "Zoro…" It was at that moment that Zoro pressed his thumb to Sanji's frenulum. "Ahh, shit I'm not going to last long…" Sanji breathed next to Zoro's ear.

"Sanji," Zoro whispered, gazing intensely at him. "Show me," he pleaded softly.

Sanji blushed deeply, but he was too close to stop now. Both Sanji's hands rested against Zoro's chest for balance, and more and more he leaned his weight against him. Zoro's grip strengthened and Sanji felt pleasant moans being squeezed out of him. Finally he happened to glance up at Zoro's slightly parted lips and the deep color of his cheeks. Once he caught a glimpse of the intense expression in Zoro's eyes, he couldn't hold back anymore.

Sanji dug his fingers into Zoro's chest. "Zoro!" he cried, throwing his head back.

Zoro gritted his teeth. "Sanji!" he gasped.

At almost the same time, they covered each other's chests in cum. They panted for a moment, but while they were still coming down, Zoro grabbed Sanji in a tight hug, as if he was afraid he'd suddenly fly away. He kissed Sanji's hair like a friendly dog, still breathless. Sanji's whole body was tingling. He rested his weight against Zoro and breathed in the smell of the water on his skin.

Eventually, Zoro briefly parted from Sanji to pick up the soap, and used it to clean the cum from Sanji's chest. Still half-hard, Sanji meekly allowed Zoro to wash his whole body, from the backs of his ears to in between his toes. Then he took the soap from Zoro and did the same favor. However, Sanji felt he might have taken a little longer. His fingers were hesitant to leave Zoro's tan, muscular form, and often he stroked certain areas for much longer than he needed to. Eventually they finished washing and rinsing, and together stepped out of the shower.

They didn't bother getting dressed again and headed straight into the bedroom without any words passed between them. Sanji closed the door behind them, and then he finally took a good look at Zoro. Zoro smiled gently back at him, accepting of his appraisal if a little shy.

Zoro's hair, which before had been military-short, was now swept back a bit, but long enough to show his slight natural curl. His eyebrows and eyelashes seemed fuller, giving him a more dark and masculine appearance. Somehow his cheekbones and jaw line both seemed more pronounced. Less puppy fat. Yet his lips seemed fuller and more sultry. It could not be denied that overall he had definitely become more handsome. He looked like a grown-up, Sanji remarked to himself.

Which was to say nothing of his body. That had always been fairly grown-up, but now especially, Sanji felt frail compared to him. Zoro had muscle everywhere. It was true he had gotten slightly bigger, but it was mostly that he had more definition now. All these changes were subtle, Sanji probably would not have noticed if he'd watched them happening. In a way he wished he had, but he was far from disapproving.

"You changed so much in six months," Sanji said, with a hint of regret.

Zoro's smile vanished. "You don't like it?"

Sanji chuckled. "I can't imagine liking anything more. I mean, obviously if you had somehow managed to grow long hair or breasts…"

Zoro rewarded that statement with a bonk on the head. "I grew out my damn hair, so shut the fuck up."

Sanji blinked, still rubbing his head a bit. "That's right…you mean, you did that because of what I said back then?"

Zoro went bright red and averted his gaze. Sanji's heart skipped a beat; Zoro blushing now was even more adorable than when he had been slightly less grown-up. He turned away, ruffling his hair self-consciously. "It doesn't matter. I'll get it cut tomorrow."

"Don't," Sanji said, and hugged him from behind. "It's really cute."

Zoro huffed to hide his shyness. "Men don't like being called cute. "

Sanji kissed the back of Zoro's neck. "Deal with it. And don't you dare cut it."

Zoro slowly covered Sanji's hand which was resting on his chest. He sighed. "I almost forgot the feeling of your skin," he said, softly.

Sanji's chest ached. "I know. My fantasies don't hold a candle to the real thing. Hehe."

Zoro paused for a moment. "Sanji."

"Hm?" Sanji asked, nuzzling his neck.

"Were you with anybody since we've seen each other?"

Sanji flinched. He cringed, knowing that response would immediately incriminate him with Zoro. "Well…now…" Zoro turned around, gazing at him suspiciously. "I never pursued anybody. That's absolutely true. But, okay…there was this girl…"

He saw Zoro's eyes grow cold and eventually turn away. The worst thing was that Sanji didn't see any surprise in that expression. As if Zoro never expected Sanji to be faithful in the first place.

Sanji felt angered and grasped Zoro's shoulders. "I walked her home when she was drunk and she stuck her tongue down my throat. But I used every ounce of my self-restraint to shake her off and went home." Zoro's gaze returned to him at that. "That was four months ago. Since then my only friend has been my hand. AV's don't even turn me on anymore, I just keep…well…"

He thought he saw a smirk twitch at Zoro's face. "Yeah?"

"I…just…" Sanji sighed in exasperation. "I just jack off to you, ok, you nosey bastard?!"

Zoro's joyful expression returned. "I'm really glad to hear that."

Saying this, Zoro promptly picked up Sanji under the arms and tossed him on the bed. Sanji briefly protested and then Zoro covered his body with his own. He looked deep into Sanji's eyes, and his gaze almost took Sanji's breath away.

"Before I met you, or at least before I became aware of you this way, I masturbated maybe once or twice a month," Zoro said.

"A month?!" Sanji cried in disbelief. "When I was your age it was more like once or twice a day! Are you a monk?!"

"After you, I had to stop myself getting turned on multiple times a day." Sanji blushed. "I'd be thinking of you in school, just praying it would go down before any teachers called on me." Sanji swallowed, and felt his cock immediately spring back to life. Zoro was ahead of him. "One time it happened while I was in a movie theater," he confessed in a sultry whisper, leaning down so his lips brushed against Sanji's ear. "It was dark, so I just got up and went to the bathroom. I came so hard in a public place while thinking of you. It took me nearly a quarter of an hour to clean all the cum off of the wall."

Sanji couldn't resist the moan that escaped him, imagining Zoro's face as he came, and it was then that Zoro captured his mouth yet again. Sanji whined against his mouth, thrust his hips against Zoro's.

Zoro gasped as he freed his lips briefly. "Sanji, I've been dreaming of you for a year. Wanting to do this even before that. Tell me…can I fuck you?"

Sanji shuddered. His pride had slipped away long ago. He couldn't deny Zoro anything right now. Hesitantly, he nodded. Zoro flushed and then dove back down to take Sanji's lips again.

Eventually, while his hands were stoking Sanji's body all over with abandon, Zoro managed to disentangle his lips long enough to ask in a husky voice, "Do you have anything we could use for lube?"

Sanji nodded and pointed to a drawer in his bedside table, unwilling to stop kissing long enough to speak. But Zoro licked the roof of his mouth and then looked up to pull out the drawer, which contained lube and condoms. He frowned.

"Are you sure you haven't been seeing anyone?" he asked with suspicion.

Sanji shook his head with a blush. "I bought them two days ago, when you said you'd be coming home."

Zoro's lips parted a bit. Then he swallowed. Without waiting for permission, he grabbed Sanji by the waist and flipped him over so he was on all fours. Sanji went red with embarrassment, since Zoro now had a perfect view of his ass. "You…that's…" he murmured in distress. But then Zoro did something that stopped his words again.

From the corner of his eye Sanji saw Zoro approach, but he didn't quite believe it until a hot, wet tongue gave his asshole a deep lick.

"Ahh!" Sanji cried, shivering.

Normally taciturn Zoro was licking Sanji mercilessly, and at length he finally stuck his tongue deep inside. Sanji's back arched with a moan. He'd had girls finger him once or twice, but no one had ever stuck their tongue inside him before. He never guessed how good it would feel. Or maybe it was just because it was Zoro doing it. He bit his lip to hold back more indecent moans.

Once Zoro had his fill of licking, he reached for the lube and let it drip down Sanji's hole and over his balls. Sanji sighed sweetly again. Then Zoro began his attack in earnest, first rubbing Sanji's hole gently with one finger, then using the extra lube to smoothly stroke Sanji's cock. Then he slipped the first finger inside.

Sanji panted heavily, savoring the sensation. It was good when he'd done it before with women. It was not surprising that Zoro's fingers alighted even more heat and pleasure from his body. Sanji was waiting for Zoro to find it, his prostate. Zoro flexed his finger a few times, then began to move it around, and sure enough…

"Ahh!" Sanji cried, both his hips and cock twitching.

He heard an animalistic grunt from Zoro, and then a second finger added inside him. There was a brief flash of pain, but as Zoro stroked his cock, thoughts of pain faded. He felt his muscles loosening, and his lower half started to feel weak. In spite of himself, the longer Zoro teased him, the more he was beginning to crave Zoro inside him. He didn't notice as his hips began to move lustfully against Zoro's fingers.

Zoro added a third finger. By now, Sanji wasn't feeling much pain, mostly just numbness, and a dull but powerful pleasure aching through his whole body. He was starting to take leave of his senses. Zoro dug his fingers inside Sanji up to the knuckle. The depth and intensity made Sanji arch his back and let out a gasping cry. He almost collapsed against the bed, but Zoro held his hips up, so he merely fell onto his chest, breathing hard.

"Sanji," Zoro murmured, surprisingly nearly as breathless himself. "Can I put it in?"

Sanji panted, unable to speak for a moment, and still overwhelmed with the feeling of Zoro's fingers inside him. "Ahh…" he cried, trying to speak. "Zoro…please…"

Before he could think, Zoro dragged his fingers out of him and slowly eased the tip of his cock inside. Sanji gasped, unable to hold back a moan. The feeling was even better that his fingers, and the knowledge that it was Zoro inside him made him melt with pleasure. They both got used to the feeling for a moment, then Zoro slowly pushed himself further inside. There were a few moments of discomfort, but when they faded the pleasure was even more powerful. Then Zoro began to move.

"Ahh…ah…ah…" Sanji cried, his whole body twitching with every one of Zoro's powerful thrusts. His vision started going blurry. His mind went completely blank, all he could think about was this intense pleasure.

Zoro gradually started grunting and growling like an animal, and his fingers tightened on Sanji's hips. "S-…San…ji…!" he managed, though clearly straining to speak. "It's…too good…what…the fuck…is with you!"

Sanji starting crying out loudly with every thrust. At length, Zoro grabbed both his wrists and pulled him up like a horse. Sanji's voice grew more desperate. "Good…Zoro…!" he cried. "So…good…!"

Zoro seemed at his limit, and he began pounding Sanji at an incredible speed. Sanji was losing it. Drool dripped down the corner of his mouth and his eyes rolled back.

"C-…cumming…!" Sanji cried.

"Sanji!" Zoro grunted loudly.

Sanji could swear he felt heat pour into his belly, and then his orgasm ravaged him with painful pleasure. His wavering voice eventually petered out, and his cock and asshole finally finished twitching. The pleasure slowly faded, and with it, all the strength in his muscles. And finally, his consciousness. He collapsed into the blankets, already dead asleep.

About a half hour later, Sanji felt himself slowly returning to consciousness. He blinked, blearily. When his vision focused, he saw Zoro before him, apparently asleep. Sanji was currently wrapped in his arms. He blinked with surprise, his memory coming back to him. Then he started to blush. He couldn't believe he'd passed out after sex! How embarrassing!

Zoro seemed to notice him stirring. His dark eyes opened. He smiled sweetly at Sanji. "How are you feeling?" he asked him, in that damned sexy voice of his.

Sanji was still blushing. "Fine…"

Zoro stretched his arms out briefly while they were still around Sanji. "I was a bit worried. I thought I might have hurt you."

"No…" Sanji murmured.

"Good," Zoro said, smiling. "So how was I? Technically that would be my second time ever, first time topping. I'd appreciate some constructive criticism."

Sanji's blush didn't seem likely to fade for a while. Constructive criticism? What the hell was he supposed to criticize? Zoro had done nothing to hurt or turn him off. More than that, he'd made him cum so hard he passed out. Sanji had never done that before. What was he supposed to do? Lie and make something up? He couldn't possibly bear the shame of telling the truth. Maybe less was more in this case.

"Not bad," Sanji said simply, avoiding Zoro's gaze.

Zoro smiled again. Then he yawned. "You should go back to sleep. If you were tired enough to just pass out like that you should have said something. I don't mind."

"No…it's…" Sanji muttered, awkwardly. "Well…don't worry about it. I don't want to sleep while you're here. Are you staying here tonight or seeing Nee-chan?"

"I saw Robin before I came here. We had dinner. I knew you'd rather I was a dutiful son than a sex-crazed teenager." He chuckled a bit.

Sanji smiled in spite of himself. "You are a dutiful son. And you're right, I'm glad you saw her first. Now you can stay the night."

Zoro kissed Sanji's forehead. "I'll stay here the whole time, if you like. I can visit Robin during the day. Which is why…" With that, he pulled Sanji closer against him, so Sanji's head was resting on his shoulder. "…we don't need to rush. Go on and sleep."

Sanji's eyes really did feel heavy. He started to acquiesce, resting his head against Zoro's arm and shoulder. Zoro smiled and snuggled him closer. "I've always wanted to fall asleep with you in my arms."

Sanji's heart felt ready to burst with happiness. "Wake me if you wake up first," he mumbled. "I'll make crepes."

Sanji felt Zoro smile, and kiss his hair again.


End file.
